


Call My Name (And Save Me From the Dark)

by Wargurl83



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Creature Fic, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, M/M, Magic, Shapeshifters - Freeform, Slow Burn, Warden Dean, Werewolves, Witches, magic fights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 08:22:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20306416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wargurl83/pseuds/Wargurl83
Summary: Wardens and Vargar have long existed in sync with each other. Each Pack has an Alpha and a Warden that are bound together that makes the other stronger.The Novak pack was the first Vargar pack in Kansas, and remains the largest in the state- but that may not hold true for much longer. The Pack’s Warden was ripped away from them by murder, and her son stolen in the night before he could complete the ritual to formally become the Pack’s Warden. Now, the Novak Pack is being ground down by Demons and a rival Pack, one who’s Warden uses dark magic.Now, Castiel, the Alpha’s son, strikes out on a desperate search for his Warden- Dean Winchester. Can he find the man he’s loved since childhood?And even if he can, will it be enough?





	1. Chapter 1

Cain Winchester stands on a cliff, facing the Atlantic. The salty winds rush over him, playing with the long strands of brown hair and tangling them together. He inhales a deep breath, drawing the scents of the sea and forest around him deep into his lungs. He will miss this place.

The rustling of underbrush to his right alerts him that he is no longer alone, and he turns to see the wolf form of Alwen Novak striding out of the shadows of the forest. The brown wolf draws up beside him and sits down on his haunches, leaning his head into Cain's hip.

_"So,"_ Alwen's mental voice rumbles in Cain's mind._ "You are truly going to break the agreement and leave us."_

Cain nods before he buries his hand in the thick fur of Alwen's scruff. "I am old friend. We travel to the United States at the end of the month. Collette has fallen sick, and her physicians recommend her moving there for better care and dryer weather."

_"What will happen to us?"_

Cain looks down to the wolf at his side. "You could come with us. Establish your pack in a new location far away from the demons that plague you here."

Alwen snorts. _"If we leave, we would have to leave as humans. We have no official status in the human world, no papers. No way to be able to travel on a ship across the sea. And no one would believe us large dogs."_

Cain inclines his head in agreement. "Then send two of your pack. Let Collette and I get the papers needed for two of your pack to go with us. Two who are already a mated pair with wanderlust. Allow them to break away from the pack and bring the magick of the Vargar and Wardens across the sea."

Alwen is silent for a time, but Cain can feel the Alpha rolling the idea around in his mind. Finally, he nods his head and chuffs. _"Fine. Allow me to speak with the Pack and see if we have any volunteers. I anticipate that you will be taking James and Amelia with you, but I would put it to the Pack to be sure. I will allow only four to travel with you so that they can build a Pack." _Alwen looks up at Cain, hazel eyes sad. _"I will miss you, my friend."_

Cain drops to his knees beside Alwen and wraps his arms around the wolf's neck. "And I, you, old friend. I have already arranged for another Warden to step in for me here, and I will introduce you to them before I leave, I swear this to you. We will perform the rituals to transfer the ties to them and to form the new ties to the Alpha going with me before we leave."

Alwen nods again, rubbing his muzzle across Cain's cheek. _"Until the new moon."_

"Until the new moon."

Cain leads his small party through the forest, sure in his destination. Collette trails behind him, clad in breeches and a long coat wrapped tightly around her. Behind her comes the new Warden for the Wales pack, Delwin, and his wife. The Council had chosen well for his replacement; Delwin was a strong Warden and would be able to lend the Pack his strength to keep them strong.

The party breaks out of the trees into a clearing filled with wolves. Alwen comes forward in his human skin, James trailing him. Cain and Alwen embrace, murmurs of greetings passing between the Warden and Vargar. Breaking away, Cain lays his hand on Alwen's shoulder and motions Delwin forward.

"Alpha Alwen, this is Warden Delwin. The Council has sent him to be my replacement for the Wales pack." The two men clasp forearms and break out into smiles. Cain feels relief wash through him at the sight, knowing that Alwen has seen in Delwin a reliable partner. He won't be leaving the Pack without a guardian.

Cain turns to James and holds his arm out for his new Alpha to grasp. A smile breaks out across James' face when their skin touches, and Cain feels the warmth of the young Vargar wash over him. His magick is strong, and he feels his lips stretching to match James' smile. Collette comes forward and James wraps her in a hug, murmuring into her hair. Collette smiles and smacks his arm before breaking away from the group, taking Delwin's wife with him to meet the rest of the pack and leaving the four men alone.

Cain smiles at the retreating form of his wife, his _blodyn_, before he turns back to the other Warden and two Vargar. James drifts over to his side and leans in.

"So, America is it?" James' voice carries an undercurrent of excitement. "When do we leave?"

Cain chuckles. "Soon. We have a week to finalize everything. I hope you and Amelia and the others are ready to leave with us tonight to go back to town. We still need to finalize your papers and finish packing."

James nods slowly and blows out a breath. "I never expected to have a chance like this." Earnest blue eyes meet Cain's. "Thank you for this, Warden. For all of it. Amelia and I, we don't fit in here. As much as we love the Pack, it was time for us to move on to establish our own Pack. This not only allows us to do so but to also have the blessing of Alpha and a Warden?" He shakes his head. "This is a blessing, indeed."

A horn sounds, drawing Cain and James' attention back to the Alpha. Alwen nods and turns to lead the party to the center of the clearing where a circle has been laid out with stones, and the pack is scattered around the outside. The four men step inside, and Cain closes his eyes, drawing strength from the earth to close a protective circle around them. When he opens them, he can see the soft white glow out of the corner of his eye that signals that the pack is protected from the magicks within.

Cain sets down his bag and draws his tools out, laying out a bowl, a satchel of herbs, and a silver knife. He casts a handful of the herbs into the bowl and picks up the knife, handing it handle first to Delwin. Delwin accepts, and he and Alwyn move to the bowl before sinking to their knees beside it. The Warden draws the blade across the inside of his forearm, allowing his blood to well up and drip into the bowl and hands the knife to the Alpha, who does the same. As their blood mingles in the bowl, Cain can hear the murmured words of the spell being spoken by Alwyn as Delwen calls fire into the bowl, igniting the substance inside.

When the mixture catches fire, it flares up in purples and blues, and Cain stumbles as he feels the Pack's presence ripped away from him. James catches him before he can fall, and Cain gratefully leans against him as the other two men clasp forearms again, sealing the bond between Warden and Pack as the wounds on their forearms touch. The space between their arms glows before flaring, then fading, and when Cain's eyes clear the two men are standing, arms healed.

Cain watches as Delwin cleans out the bowl before placing it back in the center of the clearing. James leads Cain to the bowl and allows him to sink down and kneel next to it before he takes his place across from him. Cain again casts a handful of herbs into the bowl and takes the knife from Delwin, cutting his forearm before passing it to James. This time, the fire that is called into the bowl flares blues and greens; blue for the Alpha in front of him and green for his own magicks. When they clasp arms, Cain feels the rush of a greeting from Amelia and James in his mind, along with the other mated pair they are set to travel with. Cain feels their strength buoy him as the light flares, and he rolls his shoulders as he feels the bond settle into place and opens his eyes.

Cain brings the barrier down after he cleans the bowl and stashes his tools back in his bag. The pack rushes them, yipping and growling happily. Collette winds through the crush of bodies and throws her arms around Cain's neck and hugs him tightly before copying the gesture with James. The three of them separate from the greater pack and move to where Amelia and two other wolves sit fidgeting with excitement, tails thumping the ground as they approach.

Amelia leaps at Cain when he gets close, wuffing happily into his hands as he kneels in the dirt next to her. The other two wolves- pack but not family to prevent inbreeding- crowd in next to her and every inch of his exposed skin is covered in licks. James stands next to Collette and laughs as Cain becomes overbalanced and falls over and the three wolves swarm over him, still licking him.

"All right, all right! Let me up," Cain laughs and swats at the wolves as they leap and twist around him. They allow him to sit back up, and Collette settles down next to Cain before patting the ground next to her. The female crowds in next to her and lays her head in Collette's lap followed closely by her mate. James introduces them as Arwen and Prys before shifting and settling himself between Cain and Collette, Amelia draped over his back and in both of the humans' laps. They sit like this until the feast is ready, learning one another. The bond sings happily between the six of them, and Cain smiles.

The following week finds the six of them at the docks, waiting to board. The Vargar didn't have much in the way of luggage but still helped the Winchesters pack the house and ready it for travel. The voyage would take ten days to Boston assuming the weather cooperated, and they were all ready to get started.

Boarding was slow, but they made it onto the ship with no issues. The papers for the Vargar were all in order, and no one spared a glance for them as they made cursory glances at the paperwork for each of them. They settled in a cabin with two sets of beds and not long after, the ship left port, and they were on their way.

The Pack's ultimate destination is Kansas. They decided that it would be a good central place to settle down and allow future packs to split off but still have a central location to return to if desired. Kansas was still mostly farmland, and a pleasant climate for Collette to recover in. The six of them have decided to settle outside Lawrence and build up a settlement there butting up to a forest so that the wolves would have a place to run. They would live mostly like humans, but still needed a place to run free.

Cain sighs, happy, as Collette leans on him. They watch the Vargar settle down onto the other two beds nose to tail with their mate. Cain wraps his arms around his _blodyn, _and leans his chin on her shoulder.

"Thank you, my wife, for allowing this."

Collette turns and looks at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Cain my love, what are you thanking me for?"

Cain nods to the four wolves sleeping across the cabin from them. "For letting them come with us. For taking them in as our own."

Realization dawn in Collette's eyes. "Did you think, husband, that I would have kept you from being a Warden?" She shifts away from him and takes his face in her hands. "Cain. Being a Warden is not just a job to you, it's a part of your life. I would _never_ ask you to turn away from it, from them."

Cain closes his eyes and leans his forehead to hers. They sit together in silence until Collette shifts and raises his face to hers again.

"Cain. Everything you do is for the safety of the Pack. That includes me, as well. While I know that currently, the Council does not allow women to become Wardens," she snaps her fingers and a tiny flame dances on the end of her pointer finger, "I know that we both benefit from the Bond." She waves her hand, and the flame dies away. "Now. Tell me again about your dream of beekeeping."

Cain smiles.

The train from New York to Kansas City is noisy and crowded, and the Vargar are on edge the entire trip. Humans press in all around them, and Cain does everything he can to push calm through the bond until they can disembark. They purchase a coach and two horses in Kansas City for the luggage and the two humans to make the trip to Lawrence in, but the wolves are itching to get off and into their fur after too long being stuck in their human skins. When the coach is loaded, and they are outside the confines of the city, Cain nods to James and the four of them leap off to the scrabble brush that lines the road before streaking through the fields, leaping over each other and tumbling around.

The horses plod along the road without a care in the world, and Collette leans against Cain as they amble along. The humans practice cantrips as they travel, simple magicks that take no effort but keep their minds sharp during the long journey. They create illusions for the wolves to chase to expend excess energy not spent on hunting for food. Knowing they were going to be traveling with the wolves, the Winchesters had not brought more than staples for the journey to lighten the load. Each night they camped out on the side of the road with the horses hobbled and ate trail bread and whatever the wolves had been able to locate during their runs throughout the day.

"Collette, do you have a sling or bag that I can wear over my body during the day? I've seen plenty of fresh things to eat but don't have anything to carry it in." Arwen looks hopeful as she speaks.

Collette looks up in surprise. "Actually, yes, I do." She gets up and climbs onto the carriage, rummaging around in the topmost trunk until she pulls a satchel and a line of rope out. She slides back down and Arwen shifts to her wolf form so that Collette can fashion a carry bag for her that will not impede her movement. Once the two women are happy with the results, Collette carefully takes the satchel off, and Arwen shifts back and takes it.

"That will work wonderfully, Collette! Thank you." Arwen tucks it away before they turn back to dinner.

Meals are much more balanced throughout the rest of the journey, and they are even able to use some of the extras to trade for more staples on the way. Cain had written ahead and secured parcels of land and materials for the homestead, but they would still be roughing it for a long time before they had permanent shelter over their heads. It made Collette all the more thankful for the Vargar traveling with them.

When they reached the homestead, Collette was happy to see all of the materials had been delivered as promised. She felt happiness pulse through the bond from her husband as the Vargar helped set up a rough corral for the horses so they could all scout out an appropriate location for their new home.

James shifts from foot to foot, nervous, as he waits for Cain to finish haggling for the remaining supplies for the winter. The Novak Pack has grown in the time they have been in the States, and James feels a trickle of pride run through him as he reflects on the newest arrivals.

Word had spread quickly through America of the fledgling pack, and in the interest of folding the new Kansas Pack into the network, the nearby states have sent two pairs of wolves to their territory- one pair to stay and one pair to report back to start building lines of communication. The first pair to stay with them, Brady and Ava, came from the Oklahoma Pack, followed by the Texas Panhandle Pack, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, and even Arkansas. Each state has smaller packs scattered through them, of course, but the largest Pack is responsible for opening the lines of communication and trade with the other states. Since there is currently no pack in Kansas, the Novak Pack would be taking the helm in this state.

With each new arrival, James could feel Cain and Collette's happiness grow, and when they decided to bring Collette into the Bond, James can admit to himself that he's never seen a happier Pack in his lifetime. The balance between Cain and Collette was everything that the Vargar packs had previously been missing, and as an added bonus, Collette's health had stabilized.

Exasperation washes over the Bond from Cain, snapping James out of his ruminations. He looks up in time to see Cain step out of the General Store, weighed down with a large bag of feed over one shoulder, and a basket full of other staples in the other. James takes the basket- knowing full well Cain will refuse to give him the bag- and they make their way to the coach silently.

Thankfully, with winter setting in the flow of new pack members has stopped. There aren't enough cabins for everyone right now, but Cain had secured more lumber to be delivered after the first of Spring. The Vargar were more than happy to pile into the existing cabins for the winter, and have been ranging wide to pull down enough meat for the Pack to get through. Arwen has taken it upon herself to gather as many edibles and other forage items as possible. Elderberries and mushrooms had been plentiful this year, and Collette has taken great delight in using the skins of the berries to dye their first wool harvest and was spending the winter spinning along with the others interested in crafting.

Cain grunts as he throws the feed into the carriage then dusts off his hands. "We'll be taking all the feed they have for the sheep, and they will deliver the rest in a month."

James nods and takes the basket to the front and sets it down. "Did you need me to get anything else from the shop?"

Cain nods. "Flour, jars, salt. Wax, candles, seeds for spring. Keeper knows everything and should be getting it together for you," he says as they walk back to the store. "I'll help them load up the feed while you get the smaller items."

James slaps Cain on the shoulder. "You got it, Warden."

It doesn't take long for the rest of the supplies to be loaded and strapped down. The two men thank the shop keeper and his helpers and swing up onto the bench. Cain takes up the reins and snaps them, and the horses start forward slowly. The jars rattle as the coach is pulled over the cobblestones and James twists around and stuffs a rag down into the box to make sure there isn't enough room for them to break against each other.

Once they are well outside of the city limits, James leaps down and changes into his wolf form. He takes a few seconds to shake himself off and settle into his fur, and then he settles into a loping run, keeping pace with the horses. He feels the tingle of magic and chuckles in his mind.

_"What are you doing there, Warden?"_

"Just lightening the load for the horses, James," Cain calls down to him, laughing. "I know you want to get home to Amelia just as much as I want to get home to Collette, so every little bit helps, no?"

James huffs a laugh. _"Very true. Feel free to draw whatever you need to get us home as quickly as possible."_

Cain tips his head in acknowledgment and snaps the reins and clicks his tongue, urging the team into a gallop. James glances at the ground under the wheels and sees they are about an inch off the ground, eliminating the resistance for the horses. Cain's probably funneling strength to the horses too. Instead of the ten-hour trip, they'll likely make it in eight.

About five hours later, James sniffs the air and groans.

_"Warden, we've got a bit of a problem. Snow's on the air, and it smells wet and heavy." _He draws another breath in and snorts. _"Smells like the storm's right in front of us."_

Cain swears. "How long?"

_"I'm not sure. We'll likely be riding directly into it."_ James huffs. _"Do we need to stop here? I don't know how bad this storm is going to be."_

Cain shakes his head, and James sees him move his fingers in a complicated gesture. A ball of light shoots up and into the cloud cover, and a few seconds later, James can hear Cain swearing under his breath.

"James, you'll want to get up here. We're about to run right smack into the middle of a blizzard."

Cain slows the team down enough that James can leap up onto the carriage. As he settles himself under the blanket wrapped around Cain's legs, James can hear the wind pick up and feels the temperature drop around them. He pokes his head out from under the blanket and blinks at the green glow surrounding them.

"_Cain? What are you doing?_"

"Trying to get us home, Alpha."

James rolls his eyes and pulls his head back under the blanket. _"I figured as much. But why are we rushing headlong into a blizzard?"_

Cain chuckles. "You saw the green glow? I've shaped it into a wedge in front of the team to push through the wind and snow."

_"You are keeping the horses warm, right?"_

"Of course."

The two are silent as the horses continue toward home. The snow presses in on the four creatures, trying to squeeze them out of existence. The air continues to weigh them down as the horses run flat out, and James can feel Cain drawing on his strength to feed it to the team. James whines and presses against the underside of his Warden's legs, trying to maximize contact to make the magick as easy as possible for him.

Between the storm and the time of day, full dark descends on them quickly. James pokes his head out from under the blanket again and blinks in the light of the witchball Cain has summoned. He looks at the horses and takes note of the witchballs out in front of the team as well as the lather starting to form on their withers.

_"How long?" _It's a double-edged question.

"Half an hour until we get home."

James sags gratefully. _"I'll call ahead as soon as we are in range, get the stables ready and the Pack out to help us unpack."_

Cain nods distractedly, and James can see the strain on his face as the Warden juggles the different magicks. His attention wanders, however, when the brush of one of the newer pack member's minds catches his.

_"Collette had a feeling you two would be pushing through_," she says. _"I'll let the rest of the pack know you are on your way home and we'll get everything ready for you two."_

_"Bless you, sister. Let Collette know that Cain's going to be in a bad way when we get there, he's been casting the entire way. He's drawing off of me, but you know how stubborn our Warden is."_

A trill of laughter peals in his mind. _"That we do, Alpha, almost as stubborn as you are."_

James huffs, but he knows that he can't disagree with her. He _is_ fairly stubborn. He "flicks" at her, and she vanished from his mind with another laugh. James rubs his muzzle on Cain's knee, drawing his attention down to him.

_"The Pack knows. We're almost home, Warden."_

Cain lays a rough hand on Jame's head and rubs between his ears. "That we are, son. That we are."


	2. Chapter 2

A shriek of laughter rings through the forest as two boys chase each other, dodging around the trees. The Pack gathers in a clearing nearby, greeting those whom they haven't seen in far too long. Humans are mixing with Vargar as they sort themselves out around the center of the clearing. Henry watches as his oldest grandson chases Chuck's son, Castiel, through the clearing, the two boys giggling their heads off.

Mary draws up next to him, her youngest, Sam, propped on her hip. They stand silently as they watch the people milling about. Henry glances at her out of the corner of his eye, assessing his daughter-in-law's mood. They're gathering today so that he can formally hand off the Warden bond to Mary, passing over his own son to do so. John had made his displeasure known regarding the break of tradition, but Henry had told John that he didn't really care what tradition stated. The Kansas Pack needed a level-headed Warden to work alongside them, and as much as he loved his son, John did not fit that need. Quick to anger and point blame, he was volatile at best. Mary, however, meets all of the Packs' needs, and ever since she'd married into the Winchester line, she had stepped up in all of the ways that her husband did not.

Henry smiles when Mary brushes Sam's hair back and pecks a kiss to his forehead. _Yes_, Henry thinks to himself, _Mary will make an excellent Warden, and hang 'tradition.'_ She reminds him of the live oak that his grandfather Cain had planted when they had first settled in the area after immigrating from Wales. The tree had weathered everything that Mother Nature could throw at it, including one harrowing summer when tornadoes seemed to come out of nowhere, and now, at almost 75 years old, it was the symbol of the Kansas Pack and marked the start of the territory of the wild ones. Mary would too stand firm against the storms to come.

High pitched screeching drags his attention back to the clearing as Dean, his oldest grandson, comes pelting towards Henry with a small black wolf pup nipping at his heels. Dean's laughing hard enough that his tiny face is turning red as he runs directly for his grandfather.

"Save me grandpa! The big bad wolf is gonna eat me!" Dean holds his arms up so that Henry can catch him and raise him to safety.

Henry laughs and scoops the boy up as he starts to run by, tossing Dean up in the air while the young boy screeches with laughter. Castiel barrels past them before he can dig his claws into the loam and stop, and he circles back to the small family, tongue lolling out of his mouth and panting. Castiel sniffs at Henry's ankles before he flops down on his side. Henry laughs at the dramatic display and hugs Dean to him. "Did you tire him out, son? He looks so flat laying down there."

Dean huffs, trying to catch his breath, and shoves his bangs out of his face. "Yeah Gran'pa. We were playin' chase 'n he's faster than me with four legs. But he gets tired faster'n I do when he only has two, so he wanted to have four, but then we forgot about today 'n had to run back here from really far away."

Henry nods gravely at his five-year-old grandson before he gently puts him down next to Castiel. "Well, I'm glad you made it back here in time, Dean. It would be a shame if you missed seeing your momma take over the Warden position for the Pack."

Dean nods thoughtfully before he flops onto his back and rolls over to snuggle into Castiel's neck fur. Henry smiles as he shakes his head and looks back out over the clearing, taking note of the pack still milling around.

Chuck, the Pack Alpha, steps up next to Henry and lays a hand on his shoulder. "Well, old friend, are you ready for this?"

Henry sighs and pats Chuck's hand. "Not even remotely. I just wish this were under happier circumstances."

Chuck squeezes Henry's shoulder. "Have you told them yet?" Henry shakes his head and Chuck sighs. "Warden, you need to tell them, they have a right to know."

Henry watches as Castiel and Dean scamper around the clearing. "I know. But let's make it through this first."

Chuck sighs heavily but nods in agreement. The horn sounds, drawing the two men's attention to the center of the clearing again where the Pack is spread out in a loose circle. Waiting in the middle is Mary and the tools that Cain himself had brought with him. The Pack is quiet as the ritual is completed. Henry feels the weight of the Pack lifted from him with the flash of blue and honey-gold that emerges from between Chuck and Mary's forearms and smiles at the rush of affection that the Pack sends him.

Just because he's no longer Warden doesn't mean he's no longer Pack.

Whoops and cheers can be heard as the barrier drops, and as soon as it dissolves away, the Pack rushes into the ring, whooping and hollering. Henry takes Sam from Dean and looks around for his son.

John's nowhere to be seen.

Henry's smile falls, and he lowers his face to Sam's hair to hide his pain. He'd known that John was angry when they had decided to give the pack over to Mary, to not show for the ceremony at all?

That was just cruel.

A whine from his left catches his attention, and he looks down to see Castiel looking up at him, concern written on his furry face. Henry carefully sits down, taking care not to jostle a now sleeping Sam, and pats his adopted grandson's head.

"It's alright, Castiel. I'll be fine."

Castiel drops to his belly and worms his way into Henry's lap, startling a laugh out of the older man. Castiel was not the most tactile of wolves, with the sole exception of when he's with Dean, so watching him wriggle around in a grown man's lap to find a comfortable spot was amusing. Henry runs his fingers through the pup's soft fur and watches his family welcome Mary as Warden.

The feast goes on well into the night, far past Dean and Sam's bedtime. Henry volunteers to take them for the night, and he carries a sleeping Sam towards his cabin. Dean trails behind him, one arm draped over Castiel's shoulders. This part of the forest is quiet, but the noise of the party still echos past them, startling the birds into taking flight while the bats swoop down and around them catching their nightly feast.

Henry steps to the side to let the two youngsters proceed him and closes the door behind them, placing a locking ward on it. It won't keep them from being able to get out, but it does keep wildlife from being able to get in while they sleep. He carries Sam to his small bedroom and tucks him in, making sure to build up the blankets behind him, so the little boy doesn't roll off. Henry sweeps Sam's hair off his forehead and presses a kiss to it before going back out into the main room of the cabin.

Castiel and Dean have fallen into a heap of wolf and human limbs in front of the fireplace. Dean is already asleep, head pillowed on Castiel's shoulder. At Henry's quiet chuckle, Castiel's ears twitch, and he lifts his head to cock his head at Henry, eyes glittering in the flickering light. Henry shakes his head and crosses the room to the pair, grabbing the crochet blanket off the back of the couch as he passes it and laying the blanket over them. He tucks it around Dean's body and leaves a part of it piled up where Castiel can lay his head down on it and use it as a pillow.

Castiel chuffs at Henry before he licks his hand in thanks and lays his head back down. The wolf pup sighs and shuffles a bit before he's comfortable under the human boy and Henry retreats to the couch to watch over them until deep, even breaths signal that both are asleep.

Henry watches the pair sleep and reflects on their relationship. Dean is likely to take over the Warden position from Mary when she is ready to retire, and Castiel is already showing the signs of becoming Pack Alpha. With the close friendship they share, Henry wonders if there is something deeper in play.

He thinks back to the stories that his grandfather told him, about the first pacts between the Vargar and the Wardens. At first, the agreements had been solely to assist the Vargar break away from the typical Werewolves in Wales. Having a Warden bound to the pack meant that they had a firmer grasp on their magic and could rein in their feral tendencies easier. Eventually, the Vargar evolved and became more like the Native American skinwalkers, but lost the ability to turn humans with a bite. In the early 1500s, Vargar almost died out as a race until a group of Wardens gathered to discuss the issue. They finally noticed the pattern of numbers dropping off with a third-generation Warden/Alpha pair when the ability to change a human via bite eventually died out, and realized that in order to survive, the Vargar would need to start pairing off and having children. The Packs struggled for another generation with low fertility and birth rates until the Warden magic once again helped compensate for the change.

Throughout the rest of history, Warden magic continued to help the Vargar not only survive but thrive as well. The Warden Council was formed, and a network for information followed shortly after. Trade flourished in Wales thanks to the Packs, and life, while not easy, was good for all.

Coming to America had been a risk for Cain and the Novak Pack. Not knowing what lay ahead of them meant that they could have been opening themselves to any form of attack, but not only had that not happened, the Novak pack had flourished in the heartland of America. The American Vargar had learned of the newcomers quickly, and alliances were built as soon as the Vargar could travel. The new pack made it possible for the bigger Packs of America to allow loners to split off from their Pack and make their way to Kansas. Within the first ten years, the Novak Pack became a melting pot, a cobbled-together family, and they loved each other fiercely.

Henry shakes himself from his musing and rubs his eyes to wipe away the tears that gather in the corners when he lets out a jaw-cracking yawn. He hauls himself off the couch and drops a kiss to the youngster's heads before he takes himself to bed, slipping between the sheets next to a star-fished six-month-old, and drops off to sleep dreaming of his Millie.

"Come on Cas! Lets go fishin'!"

Dean bursts out of the house, followed by a streak of black, and they pelt down to the river at top speed. Dean giggles when Cas trips over his paws in his haste to beat the human to the water and the wolf throws a glare over his shoulder. Cas trips over a hidden root and rolls tail over ears, yelping, down the embankment only to come to rest in the swiftly running water of the river with a dull thud ringing through the forest.

Dean's eyes widen, and he drops the bucket of worms as he scrambles down after his best friend. Cas is so still, and his nose is under the water. Dean panics as he slides down next to Cas and he grabs two handfuls of fur, hauling him out of the water and up onto a flat rock that's been warmed in the sun.

"Cas?"

Cas' eyes are closed, and his chest is still.

"Cas wake up." Dean's voice trembles as he watches the still form of his friend.

"CAS!" Dean reaches out and drags Cas into his lap, breaths ripping in and out of his lungs as he cries and hugs Cas to his chest. "Cas WAKE UP. _Please_ wake up!"

Dean feels static building in his fingers as he tightens his grip on Cas and buries his face into the dark fur. The static builds, crawling up his fingers and snaking up his arms until it reaches his chest. Then it all rushes back down and into Cas.

Bright green light halos around the pair, and when Dean lifts his head, his eyes are lit up, luminescent with the magic he's pouring into his friend. Cas lifts his head and gazes at Dean, blue eyes lit up from Dean's magic.

"Cas," Dean breathes out before he clutches the pup to his chest again. "I thought you were dead!" he croaks.

Castiel licks Dean's cheek, then head-butts his shoulder. "_Can't get rid of me that easy, silly."_

Dean jerks back and looks at Castiel with a look of wonder on his face. "Cas, was that you in my head just now?"

Castiel cocks his head to the side, ears flopping with the motion. "_You can hear me?_"

Wide-eyed, Dean nods.

Cas chuffs, and shakes his head back and forth. "_I don't know how you can hear me, Dean, but this is pretty cool._" He snaps at a fly and continues,_ "Just think how irritated Christian will be when we don't even have to talk to each other when we play!_"

Dean laughs and ruffles the fur on Cas' head. "Jus' wait until Michael finds out! He's gonna be so jealous!" Dean sobers a little. "I really did think you were dead Cas. You scared me."

Cas whines and hooks his muzzle over Dean's shoulder in a wolfy hug. "_I'm sorry I scared you, Dean. To be honest, I'm not sure what happened."_

"Well, we lost all the worms 'cause I dropped the bucket when I saw you fall. Guess we should head back to the house and gather some more, huh?" Dean looks thoughtful as they get to their feet. "We should prolly tell Mom what happened too, she might know why I can hear you in my head 'n stuff."

Cas nods in agreement as they scramble up the embankment. "_I agree. I've never heard of anyone else being able to hear one of us in their heads, but then again, we _are_ just pups."_

Dean smacks at Cas' rump as they walk. "'M not a pup! I'm a _kid!_"

Cas chuffs in laughter and hops away from Dean. _"Same thing."_

"Is not! I don't have fur!"

_"Neither do I when I'm in my human form, yet they still call us pups!"_

"Well yeah, that's 'cause yer Vargar!"

They continue bickering all the way back to the house, Cas nipping at Dean and Dean shoving him right back.

That night after dinner, Mary, Cas, and Dean are in the kitchen washing dishes. Dean's standing on a bench next to Cas, arms buried in soapy dishwater as he washes and hands stuff over to Cas to rinse and dry, who then hands it off to Mary to put it away.

"Hey Mom?"

"Yes, Dean?"

"How come I can hear Cas in my head?"

Mary drops the plate she's holding, and the sound of it breaking makes both boys jump. They look over their shoulders warily to see a shocked Mary looking at them.

"You- you can hear Cas in your head?"

Dean lowers the bowl back into the water and nods. "Yeah. Something happened this afternoon, and after that, I could hear him in my head."

Mary squats down and gathers the broken crockery as Dean tells her what happened that past afternoon. She leans back on her heels when he finishes the tale and bites her lip. Somehow her son has formed a Warden bond with Cas, and from the sounds of it, saved his life. She looks at the two boys fidgeting on the bench and smiles at them.

"Well, it's certainly unexpected, but there's nothing wrong with the fact that you can hear Cas in your head, sweetheart." Mary stands up and dumps the shards in the trash and grabs the broom to sweep up the rest of the plate. She drops a kiss to each of the boy's heads before she starts sweeping, and they scramble up to finish washing the dishes while she mops the floor to ensure there are no tiny shards left on the floor for anyone to step on.

The trio is silent as Mary helps them finish, and when she turns away from putting the last dish away, she sees Dean sitting on the bench again with Cas hugging him and petting his hair. Dean looks so miserable and scared, she drops to her knees in front of him and takes his hands.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Dean sniffles and presses into Cas, who hugs him tighter. "'M scared, Mommy. Cas says that no one else can hear other Vargar in their heads, and what if something I did broke me 'n Cas?" Dean dissolves into sobs, and Mary surges up, wrapping both boys in her arms and hugging them tightly to her chest. They wrap their limbs around her as she takes them to the master bedroom- which she no longer shares with John since he disappeared the night she took over as Warden- and bundles them into a nest of blankets. Sam is thankfully spending the night with Henry, so she can focus all her energy on calming her son down and reassuring the boys in her lap that there is nothing wrong with either of them.

As she rocks them in her lap, she sends a tendril of thought to Chuck. "_Alpha, I need you to come to my cabin. Nothing bad has happened, but I need you here."_

He sends a burst of questioning to her that she responds to with a mental image of the boys in her lap, and feels him drop out of the link. She turns her attention back to the two in her lap and presses a kiss to the top of Dean's head.

"Sweetie, there is nothing wrong with either of you." Dean burrows into her chest and refuses to look at her. She looks at Cas, who has shifted to the bed and is biting his lip. She can feel the worry radiating off of the young Vargar as he fidgets with the blankets. Mary sighs and hugs her son tighter to her.

"Dean, look at me, please." Dean shakes his head and keeps his face buried in her chest. Mary strokes his hair soothingly and changes tactics. She motions to Cas and pats the side of the bed, inviting him to curl up to her. He shuffles across the sheets and burrows into her side, and she pets his hair as she speaks.

"You both know about magic, right?" Cas nods, and Mary continues. "Sometimes, magic takes its own path in times of need. Did you know that Vargar used to be more like the Werewolves that we hunt than what you are today?" Cas' eyes widen as he shakes his head, and Mary continues with a smile. "It's true. A long time ago, the first pact was made with the Wardens of Wales to help the Vargar gain control over themselves, but did you know, that the first actual Warden/Vargar Bond was to save a Vargar's life?." She can feel Dean pulling back a little and continues. "That's right. A hunter had shot him by accident, and the Warden felt it when it happened. The Warden rushed to the Vargar's side and was able to heal him, forming the very first Bond."

Dean stirs against her and sniffles. "But what about Wardens? What does the Bond do to the Warden?"

Mary considers Dean's question seriously before she answers. "Well, how about I tell you what I felt when I took over from Grandpa Henry and what I do now?"

They hear the front door open and shut before Chuck pokes his furry head into the bedroom. _"Everything OK?"_

Mary smiles and nods, then inclines her head to the foot of the bed, inviting Chuck to join them. "Better now. I told them about the first Warden bond and how- and why- it happened."

_"Ah, the Accident."_ Chuck leaps onto the bed and settles down, taking in the sight of his pup curled up with the Warden and her son. Dean is looking at him, wide-eyed. _"Dean, are you alright son?"_

"I can hear you in my head," Dean whispers, hiding his face back in Mary's chest.

Chuck chuckles and shakes his head, ears flapping. _"I figured as much when Mary sent for me. Since she told you of the Accident, I'm assuming something happened today?"_

Cas shifts, drawing Chuck's attention to him. He swallows and tells Chuck what happened at the river. When the tale draws to a close, Dean clambers over his mother's lap and hugs Castiel to him tightly.

_"_I thought he'd died today, Alpha." Tears start streaming down Dean's face again as the two boys huddle together. "I don't know what happened, and 'm scared."

Chuck crawls over to Mary's lap and nudges the boys, herding them into the safety between Alpha and Warden. He snuffles at Dean's neck and hair, eventually drawing giggles out of the boy and dispelling the tense air. They all settle together, and Chuck sighs.

_"There is nothing wrong with either of you,"_ he begins. _"Sometimes things happen, and plans go awry, but nothing bad has happened here. Much the opposite; this is a good thing." _He licks Dean's cheek, cleaning the tears from his face. _"For one, you saved my son today. For that, I can never thank you enough, Dean. Additionally, you have awoken your Warden magic early, which can only mean that we will have need of it soon."_ Chuck cocks his head to the side and Dean giggles, and he continues, _"We shall take the news of this to your Grandpa Henry, but truly, child, there is nothing bad about anything that happened today. You'll hear us in your thoughts when we want you to, and it's likely you and your mother will be able to speak this way as well. Castiel's Alpha magic is awakening as well, and you two will be able to grow up learning the magics together, without the weight of a Pack on you."_

Mary chimes in, "Indeed. It means that I can teach you much more than I was able to learn before I took over. Heck, you never know, maybe you and Cas will go off on adventures and create a whole new Pack for yourselves!" She leans over and starts tickling Dean, who dissolves into giggles and screeches. Cas decides that he's had enough of his human skin for the day and shifts into his wolf form and gangs up on Dean with Mary, sniffing along Dean's neck and snuffling along his hair until Dean finally breaks away and dives behind Chuck.

Tired from the emotional upheaval, the humans decide enough is enough, and Dean makes his way to his bedroom, Cas trailing along behind him. While Dean changes into his pajamas and brushes his teeth, Cas takes it upon himself to build Dean a nest out of the blankets and pillows on the bed. When Dean emerges from the bathroom and catches sight of the nest, he giggles and flops into the bed, wiggling his way over to his best friend, before wrapping himself up in the little wolf.

"'M so glad I didn't lose you today Cas," Dean whispers into Cas' fur.

Cas licks Dean's nose before he answers. _"I know, Dean. And now it sounds kinda like we'll be together forever, huh?"_

Dean smiles as he starts drifting off to sleep. "Boy I hope so, Cas. I sure hope so... _Love you..._"

John Winchester's lip curls as he takes in the Oklahoma Pack. As Warden, he can feel the growing discontentment, and he sends enforcers to sniff out the wolves causing it, ordering them to snuff out the malcontent. He plans on keeping his place as Warden as secure as possible, even if it means a culling like no other pack has seen.

John has long scoffed at the thought that the Vargar are equal to Wardens. Or to humans, for that matter. He casts his gaze on the young Warden beside him. John had found Gordon Walker wondering the streets after being turned away from the Oklahoma Pack. The dark-skinned teen had been caught terrorizing the Pack's pups- lighting their tails on fire, tricking them into venturing out into the woods at night and abandoning them to wonder the forest, lost and alone, and all manner of other things.

"They think they are equal to us," John rumbles. Gordon starts but settles quickly. "They are nothing but vermin, no better than their Werewolf cousins. The only reason they can even control their nature is because of us," he thumps his chest to illustrate his point. "They are nothing without us, nothing but Demon fodder. They become weak and feral, turning on their own kind. They are children, and they need a heavy hand to guide them."

Gordon nods his understanding.

John slaps a hand down on the young man's shoulder. "Glad to finally find someone who understands, boy. I look forward to teaching you to be a better Warden than my worthless father ever taught me." He turns away from the valley the Pack has settled into for the night and walks towards the old Pack Alpha's house.

John's first order of business when arriving in Oklahoma two years ago had been to kill the Warden, wipe out the Alpha and his family, appointing a new Alpha that he could control, and take over the old Alpha's house for his own. Due to the Dark Magic that the Demon Abbadon had taught him, it had been easy to kill the Warden and take over the Pack, as was his birthright.

Even if it wasn't the Pack he'd been promised since he was a child.

Rage colors John's vision red as he remembers his father telling him that he wasn't good enough to ascend to Pack Warden, and the position would be passed over to his _wife_. A _woman_ would be taking over as Pack Warden instead of him, the only son of Henry Winchester. At least the whore had given John two sons that he could eventually groom into proper Wardens once he can get them away from the Novak Pack.

John pushes into the house and flips on the lights, making his way to the kitchen to get a beer. He muses over his plans as he drifts through the house, taking long pulls at the can. Gordon murmurs a 'goodnight' as he passes John in the hallway, and John nods in acknowledgment before he shuts himself in his room to plan.

Dean shakes his younger brother awake, clapping a hand over Sam's mouth to keep him quiet. He shoves an empty duffel bag into Sam's chest and pushes away from the motel bed to fill his own pack. The brothers are silent as they fill their bags with as many clothes as they will hold and anything that they can't leave behind. Dean's already got a backpack full of spell ingredients and another filled with mundane ammunition to go along with the arsenal in the Impala's trunk sitting next to the door.

John Winchester is off hunting something or other down (the gods only know with him), but neither boy knows if he's got a listening spell set up in the room, so they try to stay as quiet as possible until they are ready to go. Sam shoves as many of his spell books and his journal into his backpack, leaving behind anything mundane. Hopefully, Bobby will be able to get him enrolled into school in Sioux Falls without permission from John.

Dean makes sure to grab all their IDs and casts a quick spell to seek out and destroy any DNA left behind. Since John's their father, he knows it won't matter too much, but there's no sense in leaving behind anything for anyone else to get their hands on. Each boy casts one last look around the motel room they've been in the previous two weeks, eyes searching for anything they know they can't leave behind before they load themselves down with bags and open the door.

They throw the bags into the backseat of the Impala as fast as they can before piling into the front seat. Dean throws her into reverse and guns the engine, tires spitting gravel and dust as they back out of the motel's parking lot. Baby fishtails a little bit as Dean throws her into drive, but her tires catch quickly, and then they are gone, the only thing left of them is the settling dust.

In the car, Sam paws through his backpack, dragging out the hex bag he's had ready for this situation for weeks. He mutters a quick spell over the bag, and his eyes flare purple for a brief moment before he sighs and tucks the bag into the glove box.

"OK, we're clear," he says to Dean as they merge onto I-84E. Dean feels some of the tension drain out of him, and he settles into the leather of the Impala and blows out a breath. He lets his own magic flow out into the vehicle around him, making any charms not his own or Sammy's fizzle out and fade away. The boys look at each other and grin.

"Alright. We'll more or less take a straight shot to Bobby's. You've got quarters and Bobby's number memorized, right?"

Sam tips his head back on the seat and grins. "Yup. Pouch is under my shirt. I managed to get some quarters and stuff them in my socks too, just in case."

Dean reaches over and ruffles Sam's hair. "That's my boy. Alright, keep an eye out for places to eat 'n all that, we've got a hell of a drive ahead of us."

They pull over at the first payphone they see and call Bobby to let them know they are on the way, then dive back into the Impala, stopping only when they have to stop for gas, food, or bathroom breaks. The trip is going to take the two boys at least a day factoring in stopping for gas and a chance for Dean to sleep for a few hours. They spend the time chattering back and forth and listening to Dean's collection of mix tapes. Sam renews the spell on the hex bag every four hours to keep John from tracking them.

When Sam falls asleep, head propped on the window, Dean smiles softly and starts watching the exits for a motel. They pull into a ratty Super 8 and Dean uses one of John's IDs to rent a room before he bundles a barely awake Sam into the room and pushes him face down on the bed furthest from the door. Sam murmurs in his sleep and worms his way into a comfortable position (star-fished across the whole mattress), and Dean pulls the kid's shoes off to let the frankly stinky things air out. Once he's satisfied his brother is as comfortable as one can get in a place like this (he makes a mental note to keep everything off the floor and his socks on), he sits down on his own bed and drops his head into his hands.

The years since John spirited them away from the Pack have not been kind to Dean and Sam. Three years ago, Mary had been murdered in cold blood during a ritual. The Warden was cut down after her shield had been lowered after the spell casting had been completed, the most vulnerable time for a Warden. Black Demon smoke had poured into the clearing, driving back the pack and pinning Chuck to the ground, keeping him from protecting Mary. The smoke had lifted Mary well above the earth, shooting her through the trees that separated the clearing from their house, and slammed her down onto the roof of their own home. The writhing mass of smoke had kept her pinned there as the fire raged and...

...Dean shakes his head to clear the images from that day from his mind. He huffs and drags his boots off, then makes sure that he has a hex bag and his gun under his pillow. He stumbles through brushing his teeth and emptying his bladder before he finally lets himself flop down onto his bed and pulls the covers up to his shoulder, falling asleep quickly.

_Time seems to both stop and pass far too quickly for Dean. His mother is dead; his home, gone._

_He remembers flashes of the night Mom died. The Pack taking chase after the Demons, Castiel pressing into his leg whining, Chuck crumpled to the ground and so still in the leaves, Sammy screaming and being held back by a sobbing Becky._

_The heat from the fire._

_In a daze, Dean remembers being herded into the Alpha's home. He goes through the motions of living, but it's nothing but a parody. He can't eat, can't sleep. He would give up if it weren't for the Pack and Castiel._

_Two days after the fire, Dean emerges from his daze enough to be able to talk with Chuck, Castiel by his side on the couch in the living room. They discuss the future, and Dean agrees to stay with them until he's thoroughly trained and can take on the mantle of Warden. For now, the Bond between Dean and Castiel is enough to keep the Pack stable and safe. Chuck admits that Mary's death has left him weakened enough that he's not sure he can continue as Pack Alpha, and the three of them decide that once Dean is ready, Cas will become Alpha to keep from having to transfer the Bond to his father. Neither Vargar wants to take the risk of trying to transfer an already active Bond to someone else, even if Chuck was strong enough to try._

_Dean sinks back into his haze the day they bury what's left of the house where he grew up, where his grandfather and mother died. They sow the ashes with salt before taking care to cover the entire area with fertile brown soil and river rock from the stream where Cas and Dean brought forth their Bond so long ago. Dean watches the Pack work silently, tears streaming down his face and Cas, as always, at his side._

_Three days later, his haze drops completely at dinner, and he hastily excuses himself before fleeing to his and Sammy's room, throwing himself down on the bed. Everything is rushing in on him all at once; the fear, the confusion, the uncertainty. He's drowning in it all, desperately trying to draw a breath when a wet nose shocks him out of it._

_Dean sleeps for the first time since Mom died that night._

_But he's awakened by the suffocating stench of sulfur pressing down on him and a hand clamped over his mouth. His eyes fly open, and he's confused when he sees John leaning over him, a red-haired woman with black eyes behind him with a bundled up Sammy in her arms. She smirks at him, and Dean struggles against his father, screaming at Cas through the Bond, trying to wake him up. The woman behind John snarls at him and tells John to take Sam and cuts into his arm, and Dean feels the warm ball of Cas ripped away from him, and his magic locked away into a corner of his mind. The pain and shock send Dean into darkness._

Dean's eyes snap open, jaw clenched against a scream and hands gripping his weapon under the pillow. He takes a sharp breath in through his nose and sits up, bracing his back against the headboard. He sighs and rubs his left hand against his sternum, feeling the aching maw in his chest where the Bond used to be. He misses Castiel something fierce and wishes he dare go south instead of east, to return to the Pack. But with his powers bound, he's less than useless to the Pack and would only put them in danger again if John went looking for them there. With Sam starting high school, Dean's first priority was his little brother now, his only Pack left. Once they get to safety, to Bobby, they can work on breaking the bindings on his magic.

Once they were safe.

They made it to Sioux Falls safely. Bobby had been able to get him enrolled into the local high school with no issues, thankfully, since John never bothered to report Sam missing and Dean was an adult. Jody, the town Sheriff, knew about the boys and what they were running from, including the supernatural elements since she was also a resident Witch. She was keeping an eye out on the wire for any reports on either of the Winchester boys, but so far had only reported back reports of John and the trail of bodies he left behind him.

Sam had settled into Sioux Falls, making friends even during the summer before heading back to school. He'd also started running, the freak. Dean was incredibly proud of Sam for adjusting so quickly.

He wasn't so happy about the lack of information they had on the magic still binding him.

Dean throws the leather-bound book across the den and slams to his feet, growling and shaking from frustration. "Come on, Bobby! We've been at this for _months!_ How in the hells have we not found a way to break this damn binding on me yet?" He shakes his hands out, letting the angry build-up of magic fizzle out of his fingers in small sparks.

Bobby huffs and slaps the book he has in his hand down on his desk. "Well I dunno, princess. How about that rune is nothing like any magic I've ever seen before? How about that thing stinks to high heaven of not only Black Magic but a bastardization of Warden and Demon magics too?" He sighs and reaches for the bottle of Johnny Walker, pouring a finger in the glass tumbler sitting next to his lamp and tossing it back. "How about I have no fucking _clue_ how that magic even works, let alone how to undo it!"

Dean slumps into the leather chair in front of Bobby's desk and drops his head into his hands. "I'm sorry, Bobby, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm just so damn frustrated."

Bobby's eyes soften, and he leans back in his chair. "I know you are, son. Hell, I'm frustrated for you. Your daddy had best not ever show his face around here, I'll tell you that, or Jody'll be after my ass for murder."

Dean snorts. "Get in line old man."

Sam shuffles in, yawning, and plops down on the couch. "Hey. Ya'll workin' on that rune again?"

Dean sighs and lifts his head from his hands, turning to look at his little brother. "Yeah. Sorry if we woke you up."

Sam waves his hand in Dean's direction, covering another yawn. "Nah, alarm's already gone off anyway. Gotta get up to the school early today for cross country training anyway." He squints at Dean. "Don't forget you are taking me this morning, Dean."

Dean rolls his eyes. "What your girlfriend not around to do it this morning?"

Sam hauls himself off the couch, face beet red, and punches Dean's shoulder as he passes him. "Dean, why are you such a jerk? Ruby's not my girlfriend. Plus she doesn't start until later today anyway."

Dean scowls and rubs his shoulder. "Yeah whatever. Alright, beanpole, make sure you are ready in five, or I'm leaving without you." His only answer is the sound of Sam's footsteps fading up the staircase.


	3. Chapter 3

Castiel runs through the forest, eyes narrowed against the tree branches whipping past his muzzle. His long dark fur is plastered to his body as he shoots through the underbrush and his nails dig deep into the loam below him, helping to propel his body forward.

Five years. Five years since his best friend and Warden had been ripped away from him.

The anger tears through him again and he howls in anguish, startling the birds in the canopy into flight and away.

Five years and his Pack is being picked off, one by one.

And there is nothing they can do about it. No one can protect them.

He sails over a fallen tree, landing on a bed of leaves. He barely slows and pushes himself back to his top speed, trying to leave the past behind him. Trying to leave the Demons nipping at his heels behind.

Black smoke streams behind the Vargar, moving almost as swiftly as the wolf himself. Castiel catches a glimpse of the Demon pacing him and growls low in his throat and tries to dig, tries to push himself faster.

He fails.

Another Demon slams into him from the right, and throws him against a large tree. Castiel yelps involuntarily when he collides with the tree, and whines as he's held in the air. He pants as the Demon not holding him solidifies into a vaguely human shape.

"Hello, darling. Fancy meeting you here." The smoke settles to reveal the Demon Crowley. The Demon is not exactly an ally of the Pack, but he's also not an outright enemy.

Or at least, he hadn't been.

Castiel snarls and snaps at the smoke holding him aloft until it finally drops him the few feet he'd been being held in the air. He shifts as he lands and sneers at the Demon in front of him.

"What do you want, hellspawn? What was the point in running me down like this?"

Crowley spreads his hands in a 'who me' gesture. "Sorry about that little doggie. I've got to make it look good for the others around here." Castiel growls at him again, and Crowley rolls his eyes and drops his hands. "Fine, fine. I needed to get you alone. Got some information for you."

Castiel huffs and crosses his arms over his chest. "Fine. I'm listening."

"I found your Warden."

White noise drowns out the sounds of the forest, and Castiel's body goes numb. He blinks at Crowley a few time, mouth opening and closing a few times before he snaps back to reality. He crowds into Crowley's space, a growl rumbling low in his chest. "Where."

Crowley chuckles and pats Castiel's shoulder once before taking a measured step back. "Sioux Falls, South Dakota, puppy. One of my demons, Ruby, made friends with the younger Winchester when they appeared last summer. From what she can tell, both are fine, but the elder seems to be bound by some sort of curse." He pulls a scrap of paper out of his jacket and hands it to Castiel. "They are staying with a hunter by the name of Bobby Singer."

Cas plucks the paper from between the two fingers and sighs. "Why are you doing this?"

The Demon shrugs. "Puppy, our kinds may be natural enemies, but," he sighs and spreads his arms. "I like rules. Order. And what's happening right now? It helps neither of us. Your Pack needs its Warden."

Cas narrows his eyes at the Demon but nods his head. "Thank you, Crowley."

Crowley smirks and gives him a two-fingered salute before he dissolves into the black smoke and streams off, and Castiel looks down at the note in his hand. He opens it and reads the address, committing it to memory, before stuffing it into a pocket and dropping back down into his wolf form. He skids back towards the Alpha's house.

He's got to tell Chuck and get his Warden back.

Three days later finds Cas shoving the last of his provisions in his pack. Gabriel pokes his head in his bedroom. "Cassie?"

Cas shoves a clean shirt on top and zips the bag, throwing it on his back and giving himself a little shake to settle it before looking up at his cousin. "What Gabe?"

Gabriel slides into the room and eyes him. "Where are you going? Why are you leaving?"

Cas takes the youngster's face in his hands and rubs his thumbs on his cheeks. "I've got a lead on where to find Dean, Gabe. I've got to follow this through. I'll be home as I can, OK?"

Gabe drops his eyes and nods. Cas presses a kiss to his golden hair and sinks into his wolf form, shaking his body again to make sure the straps aren't binding, nuzzles Gabe, and runs out of the house.

The forest streams by as he picks up a ground eating lope. As he runs, Castiel lets himself think back to the last time he'd been able to snuggle up to his best friend. The last time he felt whole.

_Dean's sniffles had died down by the time Castiel had been able to break away from his own family. He slips into the room where the two Winchesters were staying. Dean had retreated quietly after dinner, unable to keep his brave facade on any longer. The Bond pulsed with his sadness and confusion at the loss of his mother, and the uncertainty of what the future would hold for the two boys now._

_Castiel was doing what he could to support his friend, but Dean seems intent on pushing him away, and Castiel has finally had enough of being shut out. He nosed the door open and padded over to the bed where there was a Dean shaped lump under a pile of blankets. He worms his way under the pile and wiggles until he's pressed up against Dean._

_"Hey Cas." Dean turns his head and looks at Castiel and sighs. "Sorry I'm such a mess."_

_Castiel sneezes and shakes his head. "Not a mess, Dean. I can't imagine I would be any less of a mess if my mom had just died."_

_Dean hiccups and tears start streaming down his face again. "I don't know what I'm gonna do, Cas. 'M so scared, and sad, and-" he hiccups again. "We can't be without a Warden, but my training is nowhere near finished."_

_Castiel worms his way closer to Dean and starts cleaning the tear tracks off his face. "It's OK Dean, Dad'll figure it out. It's just a few more years as long as we can find you a teacher, and it's not like you are going anywhere. We'll be fine."_

_Dean wraps his arms around Castiel and buries his face in the fur around his neck. He cries as quietly as he can, shoulders shaking until finally, the two youngsters- one wolf and one human- fall asleep wrapped around each other._

The next morning when Castiel woke up, Dean and Sam were gone. The entire house smelled of sulfur, and Chuck was enraged. They tore apart the house looking for _anything _that would point them in the direction of the brothers, but all they found was a few drops of Dean's blood. Cas'd discovered the nearly broken Bond shortly after the blood. They knew that Dean was still alive, at least, but with the Bond muted down to almost nothing, they couldn't use it to track him.

Chuck called the Pack together and cast every spell they could think of, even with his own magic still trying to recover from Mary's death just four days before, to no avail. They also brought in Rowena, one of the Witches in Lebanon, but even she couldn't get a tracking spell to work.

Castiel was heartsick for months, refusing to eat as often as he could get away with it, and hardly leaving his room. He missed his Warden, his friend. His love.

Because with Dean gone, Castiel's feelings for Dean crystallized with stunning clarity- Dean was it for him.

And then he was gone.

Castiel pushes his body harder, the landscape going by in a blur. He's not going to let this chance pass him by, not this time.

He wants his friend back.

Dean twists his fingers, flipping the burger on the grill. He sighs and snatches the next ticket, throwing a chicken breast on the grill and prepping the bun with the spicy mayo spread and veggies. He flicks his fingers, and the burger flops onto its bun, fries following into the basket next to it. He slides the basket onto the counter and hits the bell before turning back to the grill, flipping the chicken and putting a slice of pepper jack cheese on the cooked side to melt. He looks out the window as he waits for the chicken to finish cooking.

Almost three years since they'd finally gotten away from John and he has exactly bupkis to show for it. The rune on his right arm pulses, reminding him, as always, of its presence. It's not something that he's likely to forget for the rest of his life.

Everything they had tried, all the research, the specialists, Witches, other Wardens, everything had failed. Six months ago, Dean finally broke and called everything off. He figured that they hadn't been able to nullify the rune by then, they probably wouldn't ever be able to. He has, however, been studying with Sam the last six months and has quickly caught up with his nerdy, witchy little brother in casting and has actually started piecing together his own spells and runes. Sam has a rune he carries in his pocket now that will hide him from overt searches by John, and Dean inscribed the same spell into the necklace that Sammy had given him one Christmas.

Dean shakes himself out of his wool-gathering and flicks the chicken to its bun and slides it on the counter of the diner. Charlie winks as she scoops up the plate and drops it in front of Sam, who is sitting in one of the corner tables with his nose buried in one of Bobby's books. Sam waves at Charlie without looking up and grabs the sandwich, shoving it in his mouth, taking a bite without ever taking his eyes off the page in front of him. Dean grins at Charlie's exasperated look and shrugs his shoulders before turning back to the grill and shutting it and the deep fryer off. He lets the sounds of Charlie closing down and cleaning the front of the diner soothe him as he scrubs the grill top, making sure it's free of any cooked-on foods before washing it down with the sanitizer. By the time he's happy with the state of the kitchen, the front of the diner is dim, and he can hear the murmur of Charlie and Sam's voices from where they are waiting for him.

"Alright kiddos. Kitchen's clean enough Ellen won't skin me alive tomorrow morning, we can head out. Char, are we takin' you home?"

Charlie pops up from her chair and bounces a few times on her toes while Sam shoves his things in his bag. "Yes please! Bobby still has Sunny in the shop, said that the breaks are taking longer to come in than he expected."

"Figured as much. Not that I don't appreciate the company, Red, but usually you scoot out of here as soon as you can." Dean ducks the swat she aims at him and laughs as they leave the diner. "No abusing the driver you harpy!"

Charlie sniffs and tosses her hair behind her shoulder. "Dean Winchester. I'm no harpy, and you know it."

Sam rolls his eyes as he drops down into the passenger seat of the Impala. "Yeah Dean. It was you who blurted it out as soon as you met her, you should know better."

Dean sticks his tongue out at his brother. "Well how else was I supposed to react to a phoenix standing right in front of me," he exclaims before offering a half bow to his best friend.

Charlie grins and skips to the car before sliding in the back seat. "Well, you _were_ only half right. You didn't realize I'm also part dragon until you came over to my place the first time."

Dean laughs, remembering the first time Charlie had invited him over for a game night. When he'd seen her hoard of nerdy items very tastefully displayed, he'd very nearly creamed his pants. "Well, it's good for us that you are since there is no way we'd be able to get our hands on half the games we've played over the years otherwise."

The trio lapses into planning their next game night, hotly debating board games versus console games before moving on to the theme for the night, so everyone knows what to bring. By the time they pull up to Charlie's house, they've already settled all the details, and she's sent invites to everyone for the following Saturday. She waves at the brothers before she bounds up her front steps and lets herself inside, and Dean sees her barrier go up. He shifts the Impala back into drive and heads to Bobby's house as Sam chatters on to him about his plans for senior year.

The evening after they get home is spent with Bobby making dinner before Sam and Bobby finally head to bed, Dean waiving them on. "Ya'll go ahead, I'm just gonna wind down on the back porch for a while with a beer." He grabs another bottle out of the fridge before he steps out on to the back porch, drawing in a deep breath and holding it. As he lets it out, he sits down on one of the chairs and sighs, tipping the bottle up and taking a sip and setting it down on the arm of his chair.

A wolf howls in the distance and Dean smiles through the pang in his heart. _Gods above I miss Cas, _he thinks to himself. He rubs his sternum again to soothe the pain and takes another drink before rustling from the trees stops him cold. Goosebumps dance across his skin and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as a dark shape slowly emerges from the tree line. Dean tries to control his breathing as whatever it is stalks through the yard. When it leaves the gloom of the forest, however, Dean's breath leaves him in a rush as realization washes over him.

_There's a wolf in Bobby's backyard._

Dean feels a tingle of recognition wash over him as he watches the wolf stride towards him. He's seen that gait before. "Cas?"

The wolf stops, raising his head and looks right at him, one paw still raised in the air. Dean slowly stands up from his chair and steps out into the moonlit yard, and suddenly, the wolf is rushing forward. Dean drops down to his knees in the grass and opens his arms as Cas slams into him, whining and snuffling at him. Dean wraps his arms around Cas' neck and buries his face into the fur on the back of his neck and sobs. "Oh gods, Cas. Holy shit I thought I'd never see you again."

Cas wriggles out of Dean's hold and licks his face before he thrusts his muzzle under Dean's chin and whines again, pressing his canine body as close to Dean's as possible. Dean wraps his arms around Cas again and drops down to his ass in the dirt. Cas crawls into his lap, and Dean can feel the trembles washing through the wolf's body as Cas continues to whine and scent him.

"Dean? What the hell is going on out here, boy?"

Cas rips himself back from Dean and snarls as Bobby flicks on the light, flooding the yard with bright white. Dean twists around and holds a hand up, shielding his eyes. "Bobby! This is Cas, my Alpha before..." He trails off as he realizes why Cas has been whining at him the entire time. "Oh gods," he says, as he turns back to the wolf who is still crouched in a defensive display and growling at Bobby. "Cas! No! This is Bobby Singer, he's been hiding us from John!" Dean scrambles up and grabs the wolfs' muzzle and forces him to look him in the eyes. "He's not going to hurt us, sweetheart."

Dean gulps as Cas stops growling all at once and looks at him with wonder in his eyes. _Shit, did I really just say that out loud?_

Bobby snorts behind him. "Idjut. Well, ya might as well come in. Cas, lose the fur, will ya? Hard to have a conversation with you like that." He turns away from the door, and the lights in the kitchen come on. Cas blinks a few times, then shakes himself before letting the wolf fade away, and Dean sees the person who he's been in love with for more than half his life for the first time in six years.

"Dean," Cas croaks as he falls into Dean's arms again and hugs him tight. "Oh, gods, I thought I'd never see you again."

Dean hugs Cas to him and runs his hand up and down his back, soothing the Vargar as he weeps into his shoulder. They sit huddle together for a few minutes until Cas' tears fade away, and he pulls back, sniffling.

"Sorry about that," he says sheepishly.

Dean puts a hand on Cas' cheek and gently guides his face up so he can look him in the eye. "Don't be sorry. Let's go inside out of the dirt so you can meet Bobby, OK?"

Cas nods and they pick themselves up, helping to dust each other off before Dean pulls Cas inside the house where Bobby's sitting at the kitchen table, a pot of coffee already brewing and three mugs seated at the table. Dean points Cas to one of the chairs and grabs the sugar and milk, dropping them on the table before pouring each of them a mug of coffee and taking his own seat. They end up talking until around three in the morning, introducing Cas to Bobby and bringing Cas up to speed with an abridged version of everything that's happened since John kidnapped them. When they all start yawning, they decide to call it a night, even though they haven't yet gotten to why Cas is here, let alone how he knew where to find Dean. The three climb the stairs and Dean pulls Cas into his room after he waves goodnight to Bobby.

He leads Cas to the double bed and sits him down, taking his bag and tossing it off to the side to deal with later before he rummages around in the dresser, pulling a shirt and pair of sleep pants out for himself and Cas. He tosses a set to Cas before he points out the bathroom where he can freshen up. Dean hurriedly changes and meets Cas in the bathroom as the Vargar is brushing his teeth. He shoulder checks him and reaches for his own toothbrush and follows suit. Cas leaves him so he can take a leak in private before Dean meets him back in his room.

As Dean enters the bedroom, Cas is standing at the side of the bed, looking down at it and picking at his fingers. It's one of his only tells, Dean knows, and it's the one that says he's nervous. Dean bites his lip and crosses the room. "Hey sweetheart," he says softly. Cas startles and looks up at him, that same look of wonder in his eyes as the first time Dean used the endearment. Dean makes up his mind, and takes Cas' face in his hands and throws caution to the wind for the first time in six years. "Cas, can I kiss you?"

Cas deflates and nods, and Dean draws him into a soft kiss, slanting his lips across Cas' in a gentle hello. He keeps it chaste, not willing to lose Cas again after just getting him back. When he draws back, Cas sighs and leans his forehead on Dean's.

They stand there quietly for a few minutes before Dean sits down on the bed, drawing Cas down next to him. They wiggle around getting comfortable until Dean's laying on his back. Cas snuggles up to his side with his head on his shoulder and hand on Dean's chest, and they tangle their legs together. They fall asleep like that, and Dean gets a full night for the first time since before his Mom died.

Sunlight filters in through the blinds on the window and dust motes dance in the air. The two men on the bed are still sleeping, limbs intertwined. Castiel shifts and blinks his eyes open and smiles at the dust motes. He rubs his nose along Dean's chest, drawing in his scent. It hasn't changed much, just deepened in the years they have been separated. Dean's arm tightens around his shoulders as he stirs, and Castiel looks up in time to see Dean blink a few times and focus on his face.

Dean's smile is brighter than the sun as he says, "Hey there, sweetheart. Kinda thought this was all a dream."

Cas feels his cheeks warm at the term of endearment. He shifts and props himself up on his elbow to save his neck from the strain of looking up at Dean. "Not a dream, Dean." He reaches out and cups Dean's face and leans down, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. When he pulls back, he smiles and nudges Dean's nose. "This is new."

Dean blushes and squirms a little. "Yeah well. I've kinda had a crush on you since we were little, Cas. And I figured I really didn't want to take a chance at not bein' able to tell you, ya know?"

Before Cas can respond, the bedroom door is flung open, admitting Sam into the room. "Hey Dean - OH GOD what the hell," he yells as he whirls around to face toward the door he'd just opened. "Dean, who's that?"

Dean chuckles. "'S alright Sam, we're decent." He pushes himself up so that he's sitting up against the headboard and pats the spot next to him for Cas to follow suit. Cas shakes his head and slides off the bed and shifts into his wolf form, slinking past Sam as he turns around and faces his brother.

"OK, then who's - whoa." Sam's face goes slack, and then recognition washes over him. "Cas," he exclaims, dropping to his knees and throwing his arms around his neck.

Cas whines and hooks his chin over Sam's shoulder in a canine hug until Sam draws away. He flicks his eyes over to Dean, still sitting on the bed, and sees the soft look in his eyes.

Sam gets up from the floor, sitting down on the bed next to his brother. "How?" He looks at Dean, confusion coloring his words. "How did he get here? How did he find us?"

Dean shrugs. "Dunno yet. We didn't get to that part last night. He showed up after you went to bed."

Sam looks over his shoulder to Dean. "I take it you still can't hear him in your head?"

Dean's mouth twists and a pulse of hurt flashes through Cas. "No."

Sam nods, dropping his eyes to look at Cas. "Guess that throws out that theory then. That sucks."

Dean scoots past Sam and drops his feet down to the floor. "Yeah well, we always through it was a long shot anyway. Alright, Sammy, out. Unless you fancy seeing dangly bits when I get dressed. Might as well get up and get breakfast started."

Sam scrambles off the bed and shoots out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. "Gross Dean!"

Dean laughs and shakes his head, dropping down on his heels next to Cas. He ruffles the fur on the back of his head. "Whadya say, sweetheart? Breakfast?"

Warmth shoots through Castiel's chest, and he sneezes in agreement, causing Dean to smile. Dean stands up again, stretching, and Cas trots over to his bag, grabbing it between his teeth and waiting next to the door for Dean to open it for him before he goes into the bathroom. He drops the bag and shifts back before he roots around for clean(ish) clothes and hopping into the shower.

Eight days of almost non-stop running has left Castiel tired to his very bones. He stifles a yawn behind his fist and sucks his head under the spray, sighing as the layer of dirt and grime washes away. As he lathers a washcloth and starts running it over his body, he reflects on the past twelve hours.

_As he gets closer to Sioux Falls, the dampened Bond sluggishly starts to wake up. His body and soul are tired, worn down from having to avoid populated areas on his run, since a freakishly large wolf wearing a pack would raise questions. He passes through a Witch's Barrier and the Bond pulses, tugging him to the west. He follows the pull, keeping to the trees until finally, he's staring at an old house from the tree line. The Bond is pushing at him to advance, and he allows it to push at him, stepping wearily out into the moonlight backyard. He's upwind of the house, so he scents nothing, but continues to creep up to the porch. His skin shivers as he leaves the safety of the forest._

_"Cas?"_

_Cas freezes, raising his head and looking toward the back of the house, one paw still raised in the air. A shadow grows from what must be a chair and stumbles down the steps and into the moonlight._

_Dean._

_Joy sings through his body at the recognition, and the Bond pushes him forward, rushing to the Warden. He slams into the man and whines, snuffling at every inch of skin he can reach, desperately hoping that this is real. Dean's wrapped his arms around his neck, and he can feel his body shake as he sobs._

_Dean's voice is muffled, so Cas pulls back and licks the tears from his face before he buries his nose under Dean's chin. The Bond is beating at something keeping Cas from his Warden, and he whines in distress, pushing as close to Dean as he can, knocking him down to his ass in the dirt. Cas takes advantage of his seated position and crawls into his lap and shivers, whining and scenting him still._

_"Dean? What the hell is going on out here, boy?"_

_Terror rips through him at the sound of another voice, and Cas jumps back from Dean, crouching low and baring his teeth. He's finally found his Warden, and no one is going to take Dean away from without a fight. A snarl rips out of his throat when the backyard is flooded with light. He can see Dean's outline positioning himself between Cas and the threat, and thinks he hears Dean talking to whoever is in the house before he turns back to Cas and grips his muzzle, forcing him to look Dean in the eyes. White noise is clamoring in his head until one word finally pierces through the terror._

_"Sweetheart."_

Cas blinks back to himself, low whines in his throat echoing off the tile walls. He shakes himself and rinses the suds from his body and grabs the bottle of shampoo and flicks the cap open. The scent of honey wafts up to his nose, and tears gather in Cas' eyes as he squeezes it into his palm. He carefully sets the bottle back down in its place and draws in a breath before he lathers his hair. He can only imagine that Dean uses this shampoo because of the Bee Incident.

_Dean shrieks as he runs through the garden, a bumblebee lazily following behind the little boy. Cas picks his head up from his paws and looks over at his friend._

_"Dean?"_

_Laughter shrieks through the Bond. "Cas! Help me I'm being chased by a bee!"_

_Cas stands up and shakes himself, then pads up behind the bumblebee. "Aw Dean, it's just a little bumblebee. He's not going to hurt you. He must think you are sweet since he's following you."_

_The bee lands on Cas' nose and crawls around on it until it settles down and flits its wings a few times. Dean creeps up to Cas, eyes wide. "Wow," he breathes._

_Cas turns back toward the hives, Dean following. "But really, Dean. He must think you are a flower or something, cause they don't hurt you if you don't bother them. All they really care about is getting pollen so they can make honey." He carefully bumps his nose against the hive, letting the bee crawl off and into its home before shifting to his human form and pointing out how the colonies are set up to Dean. From then on, Dean called him "honey-bee" to irritate him._

A knock at the door startles him from the memory. "Cas? You OK in there bud?" Sam's voice is muffled, but clear enough over the water.

Cas clears his throat and shouts back, "Just fine Sam."

"OK good," he says. "Dean just wanted me to let you know breakfast is almost ready and to get your tail down to the kitchen if you want any."

Cas huffs a laugh and ducks his head under the spray. He makes sure the water runs clear before he turns the water off and snatches one of the towels - Dean's from the scent of honey - and dries himself off. He dresses quickly and grabs his bag, throwing it in Dean's room before he clatters down the stairs. He's still trying to dry his hair when Dean steps out of the kitchen, and they collide in the hallway.

"Oh good, you didn't drown. Grub's ready, come on."

"So wait, what the hell do you mean the Pack's being wiped out?" Bobby throws his hat down on the desk and leans back in his chair.

Cas clasps his hands in his lap and looks down at them, taking a deep breath. "You know about the animosity between the Demons and the Vargar, yes?"

"Well yeah, I may never have had a Pack, but I am a Warden."

Cas nods. "Well, since we don't have a Warden-" he feels Dean flinch beside him and reaches out for his hand, squeezing lightly, "-our Pack is weakened. Our Alpha, my father, was crippled in the last attack." He draws in a breath and lets it out slowly. "If this were just Demons, we'd be able to hold our own, but we are also being attacked by another Pack who does have a Warden, and he's using black magic."

Bobby swears and shoves away from his desk. "Boy, let me see that rune on your arm again."

Dean sighs and rolls up his sleeve, angling himself so that Bobby can see it clearly. Cas gasps at the sight and feels the Bond recoil at the magic rolling under Dean's skin. The magic is dark and foul, and bile rises in the back of his throat as he watches Bobby study the rune.

When Bobby pulls away and heads over to the bookshelf to pour over his books, Dean's mouth twists. "Yeah, so now you know why I couldn't come back."

Cas flicks his eyes up to Dean's, and he can see the sadness and guilt in his eyes. Cas reaches out and lays his hand on the shoulder with the rune-

-and everything goes white.


	4. Chapter 4

The world is muffled as Dean slowly works his way back to consciousness. Sam and Bobby's voices are muted, and when he blinks his eyes open, everything that greets him is hazy. When his head flops over on the couch, he sees a dark brown blob in front of him and decides that must be Cas sitting next to him. He blinks, and the world comes back a little more clearly, so he keeps blinking until it's mostly in focus again.

Cas stirs next to him, and a tingle goes up Dean's spine as a sensation that he hasn't felt in six years rushes up in his chest and mind.

_"Oh gods, what happened?"_

Dean snorts. "Well sunshine, I think you figured out how to break this damn rune on my arm."

Sam and Bobby's voices cut off, and Cas' head snaps up. "You heard me?" he asks.

Dean manages to get himself into an upright position and rubs his forehead. "Yup. No idea what all happened there, but oh yeah, I can hear ya again." Dean reaches out and smacks Castiel's shoulder. "That's for lying to us about who's Alpha, by the way."

Cas grumbles and shoves Dean away. "Didn't want you to worry. Dad's still in the Pack, so he's fully able to keep the peace for now."

"What a minute," Bobby interjects. "_You're_ Pack Alpha? What the hell are you doing this far away from yr Pack? And does this mean Dean's Warden?"

Cas shakes his head. "Chuck's technically still the Alpha. I took on more of the other duties when it was clear how hard it was for him to get around a few years ago. And no, Dean's not Pack Warden. He's still _my_ Warden, but he'll still need to go through the ritual to be able to take over the Pack."

Bobby and Dean sigh in unison and shoot a small smile at each other. Then Dean frowns and looks back at Castiel. "Well, shit. I never thought that something as easy as that would break this damn binding. Fuck Cas, I've been avoiding going back to Kansas all this time because I didn't want to be less than useless to the Pack."

Cas' hand shoots out to grip Dean's chin, startling him, and yanks his face around so that they are eye-to-eye. "Dean Winchester," he growls, "you are not useless. The Pack will always be your home, Warden powers or no."

The room is so still the wind outside can be heard, and Dean swallows hard. "Alright. I got it."

Cas nods once and lets his chin go then looks over at Bobby. "Now that the binding is broken and the Bond is restored, can you teach him?"

Bobby chews on his lip for a few seconds before he nods slowly. "Ayup, reckon I can. What'reya thinkin'?"

"We train. We learn to work together. We perform the Warden ceremony." He stops and looks over at Dean. "That is if you still want to." At a nod from Dean, Cas continues, "I think we should move what's left of the Pack up here. Get them out of the line of fire while we prepare."

Sam sits down next to Dean, drawing his attention away from Cas and Bobby as they start making plans. "Hey Dean, you OK?"

Dean shifts to look at his little brother. "Yeah man. I mean, I guess. This is all so fucking weird. I mean, I'd given up, y'know?"

Sam nods. "Yeah dude. Um, not to sound childish or anything, but-" he trails off.

Dean's concentration sharpens, and he takes in the worried look on Sam's face and the way he's fidgeting with his hands. "Dude. We are not going anywhere until at the very least you have graduated high school."

Sam's face relaxes, and he flings himself forward, pulling Dean into a hug. "Oh thank the gods. I was hoping you were going to say that."

"Listen here, bitch," Dean says as he squeezes Sam tighter, "I made a promise to you when we got here no more moving around until you were done with school, and I meant it."

"That's why we are bringing the Pack here," Cas rumbles from over Dean's shoulder. "I knew if you two were here, it was for a reason, even before the Bond was restored." Cas sits down next to Sam and lays a hand on his shoulder. "I'm never going to make Dean choose between you and me, Sam. You will always come first."

Sam transfers his hug to Cas, and Dean feels twin rushes of affection in his chest- one from himself and one from Cas. He smiles softly at the two most important men in his life and feels like, for the first time in a long time, things are going to be OK.

"Alright, son so here's the plan." Bobby sits down in his chair and tosses a folder over to Dean. "We are going to start with the basics. Don't give me that look boy, you've been cut off from the Warden magic for years, we need to make sure your base is strong before you go jumping off the deep end."

Dean groans and Cas bumps his head against his leg. "_Don't sass the Warden, Dean. He's going to make sure you don't burn out."_

"Ugh, yeah I know, but this is all kids stuff, Cas! I've been able to do this since we were little."

_"Were. You were able to do it. Dean, please take Bobby seriously. I just got you back." _Cas whines a little and sets his chin on Dean's knee, imploring with literal puppy eyes for Dean to go with Bobby's plan.

And yeah, Dean's still a sucker for Cas' puppy eyes and caves. "Gods above. OK fine." He flips the folder open and starts leafing through the pages inside. Bobby pats his shoulder as he passes him to go into the kitchen. Dean stands up absently and moves over to the couch and sits down, still reading, and Cas jumps up next to him and worms his way as much into Dean's lap as possible.

_"So. Let's start with the basics." _Cas lays quietly, eyes closed, as Dean moves through the physical hand movements, getting used to them again. He sighs when he feels the Bond sing with Dean's magic as he starts casting the small cantrips to warm up. He grumbles in satisfaction and falls asleep to the gentle pull of magic.

An hour later, though, he can feel the pain radiating through the Bond from Dean. He cracks one eye open to see Dean shaking out his hands, letting the sparks of magic go, and massaging the meat of his palm.

_"And this is why Bobby wanted to start you on the 'kid stuff,' Dean. Your hands are cramping already, I can feel it."_

"Yeah, yeah. You two were right. Still felt good to be able to do it again, ya know?"

_"Mmm, yes."_ Cas hauls himself upright and hops off the couch, wandering into the kitchen. He shifts as he goes, and pulls out a pack of frozen peas and wraps it in a towel before going back into the den and handing it off to Dean. "Here. This should help with the cramping."

"Thanks man," Dean says as he takes the bag and settles his hands on top of a pillow. "So. Moving the Pack here, huh? Is this gonna be a permanent thing?"

Cas sighs and sinks down onto the couch. "I don't know. Dad and I will probably put it to a vote. I have a feeling it's going to depend on other Vargar presence in the area and if we feel like we fit in here."

"You should talk to Jody," Bobby says as he comes into the den and sits down at his desk. "She's one of the resident Witches, Sam's mentor, and the local Sheriff."

Cas twists around to look at Bobby. "Oh! She's the one who put up the ward around the town, isn't she?"

Bobby looks startled, and then replies, "Yeah, actually. You felt that?"

"I did, yes. It's remarkably strong. I would not be surprised if-"

A pounding knock rings through the house, cutting Cas off. Bobby raises an eyebrow at Cas and Dean and hauls himself up, answering the door, and ushers none other than Sheriff Mills in the den.

"She doesn't show up soon." Cas finishes sheepishly.

Jody levels a look at Castiel. "So I take it you're the one who set off every alarm in my house last night?"

Cas squirms and looks at Dean for help, who just raises his hands. "Oh no, you are so not dragging me into the middle of this."

Cas sighs and hangs his head. "Yes ma'am."

"Vargar?"

Cas' head snaps up, and he narrows his eyes at her. "How did you know?"

Jody grins and drops down into one of Bobby's chairs. "We haven't had a Pack around these parts for a long time, but I still remember the signature." She flicks her gaze at Dean, then back to Castiel. "I take it you are here for him?"

"Er, yes. He's my Warden."

"I figured as much. I can feel the magic from your Bond, even though I'm no Warden myself. You two might want to jump ahead to grounding and shielding. The magic is strong, and I have a feeling you'll be attracting attention you don't want if you don't." She turns her attention to Bobby as he retakes his seat. "So. What's up? Felt you talkin' about me as I was walking up the steps."

Bobby mutters under his breath and then sighs. "Well, you already know part of it." He waves his hand in Cas and Dean's direction, then continues. "However, we've got some trouble coming, and you need to be brought up to speed."

The three of them fill in Jody as best they can over the next hour. Bobby breaks out the Johnny Walker and gives Jody a glass after they finish and she takes it gratefully.

"So, wow. OK, so the first thing I see here as an issue is, where are we going to put the Pack?"

Cas shrugs. "I was actually hoping to talk to you about that. Some of the Pack is going to want to stay out in the woods, but we have others that will want to live in town and get jobs. But we don't have a whole lot in the way of resources right now. We've had to close ranks to keep from being picked off by another Pack and Demon attacks."

Jody swears under her breath and takes a sip of the whiskey. "Well. I can talk to the town council, see if there is anything we can do about getting housing for the ones who want to live in town. I know there is a block of houses that's been standing empty for ages. I imagine if the Pack is here to stay, they'd be happy to help get em fixed up in return for having a Pack around here again. Some of the council is old enough to remember the last time a Pack settled here."

The conversation continues between Bobby, Cas, and Jody, so Dean excuses himself to the kitchen. He returns the peas to the freezer and sets to making dinner. He decides on spaghetti since it's easy and they have everything to make the sauce from scratch, and lets his hands work on auto-pilot while he ponders the situation he's found himself in.

Shortly before dawn a few days later, Castiel slips out of Dean's bed and out of the house, dropping down into his wolf form. He shakes himself to settle his fur, then trots off into the woods. The morning is quiet, only the sleepy sounds of birds twittering to keep him company.

As he makes his way through the underbrush, he keeps his senses stretched to see if he picks up any other Vargar in the area, but Jody was right, the Pack that was here before are long gone.

Cas sneezes and catches a whiff of water to his right. He angles towards the smell and breaks out of the cover to see a clearing with worn outhouses on the bank of a creek. He cocks his head in confusion and keeps to the edge of the underbrush as he works his way to the nearest house.

As he gets closer, he can see that these houses were built with Vargar in mind and pushes the door open. The interior is understandably in ruins, but the structure seems to have held up well over the years that it's stood empty. Each of the houses he investigates prove to be a variation of the same, and Cas is pleased with his find. He takes a mental note of the location and turns his paws back toward Bobby's house.

_"Cas? Where are you?"_

_"On my way back."_ Castiel shows Dean what he found and continues, _"I woke up early and wanted to let you sleep, so I went scouting to see if I could find a suitable location for the Pack and found much more than I expected."_

Dean's laughter warms the Bond. _"Yeah looks like! Dude that looks awesome. Did you pick one out for us?"_

Cas trips over a branch in his surprise. _"Uh..."_

_"It's OK Cas, we'll figure it out when the time comes. I just figure since you found 'em you should be able to take first pick is all. Hurry your tail back here, cause breakfast is ready, and Sam's already down here. If you want anything, you're going to have to fight him for it now."_

Cas snorts a laugh. _"I can hunt for my own food, you know."_

_"Oh well fine then, mister Vargar, see if I make you banana pancakes again."_

The Vargar breaks into a flat out run at that. Dean's banana pancakes are Cas' favorite thing to eat, and after way too long without them, he is not going to miss out on this chance.

Sam is so ready for school to start back up.

This isn't really anything new, but with the rune on Dean's arm broken and Cas back, he feels like he needs to contribute in some way, and that means getting back to school so he can learn the final year of spellcasting and writing. As a Witch, he knows that he can't help Dean practice the Warden stuff, but he _can_ start applying what he already knows, and what he'll learn, towards keeping the Pack safe once they get here.

A knock on his door startles him out of his thoughts, and he looks up to see Jody poking her head in. "Hey Sam. I could feel you thinking all the way across town. What's going on in the noggin of yours?"

Sam blinks at her a few times before he flushes. "Um."

Jody laughs and walks over to the bed, sitting down beside him. "Don't worry, you weren't broadcasting. The only reason I even caught on is because we are so connected." She pokes him in the nose. "So, spill it, Winchester."

"Can you teach me the type of magic you can do? Stuff like the barrier spell? I want to be able to help the Pack when they get here."

Jody grins wide and leans back on her hands. "I wondered when you were going to ask. Sure can. Lots of it's stuff you already know how to do, just on a bigger scale. I learned a lot about what I do now from one of the Witches that learned it from the old Pack."

Sam's eyes grow wide. "Really?"

"You bet. Tell you what, you come by the house this afternoon after I get done with my shift and I'll dig out everything you need to know about being a Witch for a Pack."

"Deal."

"Awesome. I'm gonna head downstairs and talk to Cas then." She stands up and ruffles his hair. "See you tonight."

Dean grins as Jody comes down the stairs. "Talk to Sammy?"

"Sure did. He'll be heading to my place this afternoon, and I'll get him all set up and started with training." Jody snags a plate and plops down into the chair next to Cas and loads her plate with a pancake. "So, Cas. Talked to the city council and they are more than happy to help out with getting anyone set up with a house in town." She drizzles some syrup on the pancakes and starts cutting them up. "Also talked to a bunch of the local folk and they are more than willing to help out with repairs and stuff like that in return for the normal trade stuff. They all know if you plan on staying that trade won't start up soon, but the town is ecstatic to hear about another Pack settling here."

Cas nods his head and swallows the bite he's working on. "That's good. I went scouting this morning and found the old Pack's houses as well. We'll need some help fixing those up, too."

Jody makes a sound of agreement as she takes a bite of her pancake.

Sam clatters down the stairs a few minutes later, grinning from ear to ear. Dean smiles at him as he gets his plate loaded up. "So I hear you get to be a nerd even before school starts."

Sam grins as he plops down at the table. "Yeah! Jody's gonna show me how to be a Witch who can actually work with a Pack!" Further conversation is cut off as he shovels a truly impressive amount of food into his mouth, puffing his cheeks out like a chipmunk.

Dean just laughs and shakes his head.

The August sun is sweltering, even this far north. Dean wipes the back of his hand across his forehead and shakes the sweat collected there off with a grimace. He can't imagine how Cas can deal with this kind of heat with his dark fur.

Dean makes the gesture for wind with his left hand and whispers the word, causing a slight breeze to kick up in the clearing behind Bobby's house. It's still hotter than hell, but at least the air is moving now.

"That's cheating, boy," Bobby says as he comes down the steps.

Dean throws a dark look at the other man. "How's it cheating? Just getting a little air going back here. It's not like it's a cold breeze."

"Well, at least you got the word right this time."

Dean sighs and sits down in the dirt. "One time. One time I mispronounce a word and the spell bounced back on me. Pretty sure my singed eyebrows are punishment enough."

Bobby laughs. "True, true." He looks across the yard to the tree line and purses his lips. "You talk to Charlie yet?"

"No, not yet. Figured I'd talk to her after work today."

Bobby nods. "Well, make sure to do so. Even as a half-dragon, I'd rather not her get caught off guard by other creatures moving in, ya know?"

Dean snorts. "Pretty sure her Phoenix side is the one you should be worried about."

Bobby scoffs and slaps at Dean with his cap. "You do realize that Charlie considers this whole town as a part of her hoard, right? That forest included."

Dean's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "No, actually, I didn't. Alright, I promise, I'll talk to her tonight after close." Dean hauls himself up and dusts off the seat of his pants. "You talk to Ellen and Jo yet?"

"Yup. They're stocking up on ammo and hex bags too, just in case the bad news follows the Pack here. Your boy and his family will be safe here."

Dean feels a flush spread across his cheeks, but nods in thanks. "Alright. I'm gonna head in and get washed up and changed, I'll see you tonight after close."

"You got it, son. Keep practicing what you can, you got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, Bobby, I got it."

"Wait, you're a _Warden?!"_

"Charlie, will you please keep your voice down? I'd really like it if the muggles across town didn't hear you."

Charlie's eyes are wide as she does her best impression of a goldfish, but she does lower her voice. "But you're a Warden! That's so cool! Where's your Pack? Why haven't I met them? Wait are they here? Is it a new Pack? Come on Winchester, I need deets!"

Dean grumbles under his breath as he shoves Charlie out of the diner. He makes sure the door is locked and leads her over to the Impala. "Look, Char. I wasn't trying to hide it or anything like that, OK? Until a few days ago, I couldn't even access my magic."

"Huh. I wondered what that black stain was on your arm. Glad it's gone."

Dean raises an eyebrow at her but decides to not chase that line of questioning at the moment. "Well, the Vargar I Bonded with when we were kids found me and broke the rune that was holding my magic hostage, so I've been a little busy the last few days trying to re-learn everything I've forgotten in the last six years or so."

Charlie nods, a thoughtful look on her face. "That makes sense." Her gaze sharpens, and she whips her head to pin Dean with it. "Wait, your Vargar is here?"

"Yup. Takin' you to meet him now."

Charlie nods once. "Good."

When they get in range of the Bond, Dean sends a gentle poke in Castiel's direction. _"Hey sweetheart, you still awake?"_

Cas' mental voice is groggy when he replies. _"Mostly."_

_"Well, up and at em, at least for a little bit. Got someone I want you to meet."_

A general feeling of question trickles through, along with a little bit of worry.

_"Not like that. Charlie's my best friend next to you, and she's also the biggest Creature around here. Figured ya'll should meet before you bring the Pack in. You know, so she doesn't set anyone on fire."_

Alarm rings through the Bond as Dean pulls into his parking spot beside the house. Cas bursts through the back door, scrabbling in the dirt to make the turn around the house without wiping out. Dean pushes out of the car quickly. "Dude, she's not going to hurt you! Or me!"

Cas stops in front of the car with his head down close to the ground, and Dean can hear the growl rumbling low in his chest. That... probably should not be as hot as it is. He shakes his head to get himself back on track and leans down so he can talk to Charlie.

"Stay here for a sec. I think I scared him, so I'm going to talk to him and tell him what you are, OK?"

Charlie's eyes are wide as she takes in the snarling wolf in front of the car. "Yup, staying here until you give the all-clear. You got it, boss."

Dean nods and closes the door before putting himself between the car and Cas, cutting off his line of sight. Cas ignores him at first, shifting to try to get his eyes back on Charlie, but after a few minutes of Dean dancing back and forth, he finally gives up and huffs.

_"What is she?"_

"She's half dragon, half Phoenix." Dean kneels next to Cas and takes his head in his hands and lets their foreheads rest against each other. "Cas, I swear, she's a great gal. She's sweet, she's geeky and a little nerdy, a wiz with computers and tech. She's my friend, my first one here. She's like the little sister I never had."

A shiver runs through Cas' body as he wrestles his instincts under control and Dean sighs, feeling the Bond settle down. _"All right. I'm OK now. My apologies."_

"I could have warned you a little better." Dean pecks a kiss to Cas' nose and stands up, then jogs to the passenger door. He opens it and bows with a flourish. "My Queen, I'd like you to meet my Vargar and Alpha, Castiel." He offers his hand to her, and she clasps it with an eye roll as he helps her out of the car.

"Great, now he's gonna think I've taken you under my thrall or something."

Cas sneezes, and Dean feels amusement wash through him. "He thinks that's funny, actually."

Charlie raises her eyebrow at Dean, then focuses on the Vargar in front of her, waving awkwardly. "Uh, hiya Cas?"

Cas chuffs and shakes himself out before crossing the space between them. He snuffles at her ankles and calves, causing Charlie to squeak a laugh before he plops down on his haunches next to Dean. _"She'll do."_

"Well, duh."

The boy's heads whip around, staring at Charlie. "You can hear him?"

Charlie blinks a few times. "Uh, yeah? Am I not supposed to be able to?"

Cas' mental voice is colored with astonishment when he answers. _"I've not heard of anyone outside of Pack or Warden Bond being able to."_ He cocks his head to the side as he considers, then continues, _"But I've also never heard of a Vargar meeting a dragon or Phoenix, so there's that."_

"Well, I can hear you just fine. Can't get a fix on your emotions or anything like that though, so it's just like a got a mental text message from you," Charlie says. "So your secrets are safe with me. So! You two want to catch me up?"

Dean leads them into the house and grabs beers for the three of them, and they sit down at the table as they fill Charlie in. Her level of enthusiasm is Comic-Con high, so Dean has to remind her a few times to keep her voice down, but by the end of the tale, she's grinning fit to burst.

"A real live Pack here? That's gonna be so cool! Cas, you just let me know if you need funding, OK? I've got more than I know what to do with, and would be more than happy to help."

Dean feels the embarrassment radiating off Cas, and reaches out to clasp the Vargar's hand in his own. "Thanks, Char. That really means a lot to us, ya know? It's not ideal, moving a Pack like this, but we can't leave them down in Kansas while I get my shit together."

Charlie waves him off. "Dude, it's really nothing. I'm a lot older than I look, and money's just a thing to me. I can always make more. But this talk about dark magic's got me a little worried. What if that bad Warden follows the Pack? How are you going to fight against magic like that?"

Dean slumps in his chair. "I don't know. I've never even felt it, other than the rune that the demon bitch carved into my arm."

Charlie takes a swig of her beer, then taps her finger against her chin a few times. "Well, I think I may know of someone who would be willing to help."

Cas raises an eyebrow at her. "A practitioner of dark magic willing to help others? Why?"

Charlie shrugs. "Honestly? No idea. She's a little scary, but Billie's good peeps. She's actually a really nice gal once you get to know her and only learned to be able to break curses and stuff. She's actually got a shop in town." She sets the now empty bottle on the table. "I'll talk to her tomorrow, see if I can get her on board." She looks at Cas. "So how are you planning on moving all the Pack's stuff up here?"

"We aren't stuck in the dark ages," Cas laughs. "We've got cars and can rent moving trucks. Furniture will have to be left behind, but the important things will be brought with us."

Charlie nods. "Alright, just checkin'. Men tend to forget about that stuff."

The next week is spent with Jody teaching Sam all she can before he goes back to school and Cas and Dean being drilled by Bobby to work together. The week flies by, and by the time the last week of August rolls around, the weather is finally starting to cool off, and Cas decides it's time for him to bring the Pack up. He's already called ahead and talked with Becky, and she's got everyone as packed as they can be. She's broken the fifteen or so that are going to be living in town into groups and sending them one family unit at a time, so they don't attract attention. Cas'll be going back to Kansas to make sure the six wild ones make it in one piece.

They are laying in Dean's bed the morning that Cas is set to head out, wrapped up each other. Dean knows that Cas needs to leave soon so he can make sure everyone stays safe, but something in his gut is telling him something is going to go wrong. He hugs Cas to his chest tighter and buries his nose in the crook of his neck, drawing in a deep breath. Cas murmurs in his sleep and Dean grins to himself as he starts biting on the lobe of his ear. Cas rumbles low in his chest, and Dean can't help but chuckle at his disgruntled Alpha. He leaves off trying to wake him up and rolls out of bed, throwing on a pair of sleep pants and heading downstairs to start the coffee pot. He pulls eggs and bacon out of the fridge and sets to frying them up. He takes the whole mess upstairs and sees Cas sitting up and blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"Mornin' sunshine," Dean says as he sets down the food and coffee on the bedside table. He leans over and pecks a kiss to Cas' temple, earning him a grumble and a hand in his face shoving him out of the way so that Cas can get to the coffee.

They eat and get Cas packed up in silence, and when it's time for him to go, the two men stand at the back door, foreheads pressed together. Cas nudges Dean's cheek with his nose, forcing him to look into his eyes.

"I'll be back as soon as possible. Three weeks, maximum."

Dean's throat is tight as he nods, and he presses a chaste kiss to Cas' lips. He desperately tells the voice in the back of his head and his rolling gut to chill the fuck out but gives up once the Bond is stretched too far for them to feel each other anymore. He turns away from the spot that Cas disappeared into the forest and drags himself back upstairs and tucks himself back into bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Six days later Cas stumbles into the Pack's clearing. His parents are there, ready to bolster him on either side and get him into the cabin they share and over to a nest of blankets. He collapses onto the soft pile and groans deep in his chest as he stretches his legs to relieve the cramps.

_"You could have warned me about the fact the area is surrounded," _he says to his father as Becky brings over a bowl of water for him to drink.

_"We didn't know. They hadn't shown themselves until now."_

Cas huffs. _"Fair enough, I guess. Alright, bring me up to speed with the situation, please."_

Chuck does so while Cas stays laid out on his side, mustering up the energy to shift back to his human form so he can pack his own things.

"Castiel," Becky breaks in. "Do you think your little town would be willing to bring in a few more people?"

Chuck growls at her under his breath, but Becky is undeterred. "Oh hush, they are in just as much danger as we are, if not more so once we leave."

Cas' ears prick forward. _"Whom are we talking of?"_

"Pam Barnes and her crew, including Rowena."

Chuck whines and shakes his head, making his ears flap together. Becky reaches out and gently smacks him on the shoulder. "You're just upset that Pam still flirts with you even though you have a mate and pup. You hush."

Cas can't help but laugh at the glare his father shoots at his mate. He huffs and turns his back on them, flouncing out of the room, and Becky collapses on her son, laughing and wiping tears from her eyes.

"Oh it's too easy to ruffle his feathers. That will never get old."

Cas huffs and licks her shoulder. _"What do we have left to do?"_

The three Vargar stand, leaning into each other and cast a last glance at their home.

"Do you think we'll ever get to come back?" Becky asks.

"Who knows, Becks. I hope so." Chuck pulls his mate closer, and she turns her face into his shoulder, hiding her tears from them. Cas wraps his arms around the pair and hugs them tight before backing away.

He trots over to the wild ones - six in total - and drops to his heels next to the oldest, Raphael. "Ready to go?"

Raphael nods, and Cas shifts into his wolf form, shaking himself to settle his bag. The other Vargar follow suit, and Cas leads them to through the safe zone and out next to the road where Becky and Chuck are waiting in the truck.

_"You'll be meeting up with Pam and Rowe on the way out of town?"_ Cas asks.

Becky nods. "Rowe's Coven is ready to go as well and will be following us up to Sioux Falls. Your phone is all charged up, right?"

Cas nods.

"Good. Let us know if the stopping points change. We'll meet you there."

The wild ones and Cas stream off to the north, fading into the tree line quickly and Becky puts the truck into gear, casting one last glance in the rearview mirror at their ancestral home. She keeps one eye on the clearing as it fades away in the rear-view mirror, then clenches her jaw and puts it out of her mind as best she can.

Forward is the only way to go now.

The next six days are grueling for the wild ones and Cas. They are keeping the pace to the slowest wolf in the group, Marley up with Castiel, but are still making good time. They've had to dodge a few Demon sentries, but all in all, the journey isn't a bad one now that the heat has broken and fall is setting in.

When they cross through the barrier into Sioux Falls, Jody is there waiting for them with water and food for the last leg of the journey. The wild ones delight in meeting the Sheriff, even Raphael, a normally stand-offish Vargar. Jody is just as happy to meet them, warming Cas' heart at the welcome his Pack is receiving.

The Bond whispers with his proximity to Dean and Cas smiles internally at the warmth trickling in from his Warden. Three weeks is too long to be separated from him, and he's glad to be home.

Dean's chest heaves as he dives behind a stack of demolished cars and blocks a fireball that Charlie flings his way.

"Charlie, this is not what I meant by helping me train!" he yells.

"Oh come on, Dean," she yells back, "What do you think is going to happen when you have to fight off this other Warden? He's not going to play nice or want to talk!"

Dean grunts in agreement and dodges around the stack of cars, getting Charlie in his line of sight. He mutters "_ffon" _under his breath and twists his fingers, and Charlie squeaks when her feet won't lift off the ground.

"Dude really? You better be able to get these unstuck."

Dean snickers as he runs through the scrapyard. A barefoot Charlie landing in front of him makes him take a sharp right turn to dodge yet another fireball, and this one he can feel the heat on his back.

"Char, I'd rather not be roast Warden, thanks!"

"Dodge faster then!"

They continue chasing each other through the yard, laughing and shouting curses at each other the entire time. By the time the sun sinks below the horizon, they are both worn out and breathless. Bobby's already yelled at them twice for fireballs too close to the house for his comfort, and Sam had rolled his eyes at them on his way out to Jody's place. When they finally call a truce, they collapse together in a heap in the dirt of the backyard and catch their breath.

"So," Charlie says once she gets her breath back. "I talked to Billie."

Dean twists around so he can look at his best friend. "Oh yeah?"

Charlie nods. "She's more than happy to talk to you about how to protect against the black magic. She said she draws the line at teaching you any, though."

"That's perfectly fine since I don't want anything to do with it," Dean says. "I'm perfectly happy knowing how to protect and deflect, thanks."

"She also offered her alliance to the Pack. Including if something should come up and you need her for a fight," Charlie adds.

"Well, I hope we won't need it, but I'm glad. We'll take as many friends as we can get."

The darkness rolling off the pretty black woman in front of him dims the area around her. Her clothing is all black, and her wild curls shift restlessly around her face. Her gaze flits around the diner, taking in everything but not lingering on any one thing until it gets to Dean.

Her voice is husky as she says, "Well, you must be Dean. Glad you got that rune cleaned up, boy." She tosses a drawstring bag to him that he fumbles a little from the weight. "Use that spell to get rid of the remnants, and you'll be all set to take on the Bond for the entire Pack."

Dean gulps and turns to put the bag in his jacket pocket. When he turns around again, Billie has seated herself at the bar top area and is perusing the menu, any dark tendrils gone. Dean blinks a few times then shakes his head before he gets her a glass of water.

"Just a hamburger, please. All the fixin's are fine, just no mayo," she says as he walks up to her. She accepts the glass with a nod and takes a sip before setting it down. "So. How'd you get mixed up in black magic?"

"Did Charlie not tell you?"

"She did, but I want to hear it from you, too."

Dean nods in agreement and gives her the abbreviated version as he makes her lunch. Her eyebrows draw in when he tells her of the Demon and his father working together and she grills him a little about John. He answers everything he can until she sits back, satisfied.

"Well, to be honest, I'm a little worried that your father hasn't come looking for you."

"You, me, and everyone else I know. We were on pins and needles for a long time lookin' for any sign of him, but he's never shown hide nor hair around here. Jody and Bobby would know."

"And Jody is damn good at what she does. Both of her jobs."

Dean grins. "Damn right she is. One of the best women I know."

They talk a little while longer until Billie pushes back her empty plate with a satisfied sigh. "Winchester, if you keep feeding me like that, I won't even ask for payment. That's the best burger I've had in years."

Dean preens under the praise. "You got a deal."

They set up a time to meet at Smoke and Mirrors, her shop, the next day. "Bring anything you have of your father's with you, including that car out there. We'll use it to get a lock on his location and see if Missouri can use any of it to get a bead on what his plans are. There's no good reason I can think of that someone would want to bind Warden magic unless..." She trails off and looks into the distance, a dark expression on her face. She shakes her head once, then continues, "Just bring everything you have. Sam too. Don't do that spell I gave you tonight, the rune may have something left, even though the Demon is the one who cut it into you." She slaps down a five-dollar bill, shrugs on her jacket, and waves once before walking out the door.

Dean finishes his shift in a daze and lets the shop stay quiet as he cleans up, forgoing the Zep he'd queued up in favor of sorting out his thoughts. He thinks about Cas and wonders how he's doing, where they are at. His mom's been calling and checking in each day when they make it to the check-in points, but he's not gotten a chance to talk to Cas since the trip started since he's dead tired each day, eating and falling asleep within minutes of stopping. Becky calms his nerves though, assuring him it's normal. Today is day three of the six-day journey, so he'll be seeing his Alpha soon. He grins as he backs out of the diner, locks up, and heads home, mentally making a list of the things he'll need to locate the next day to take with him.

The trip to Smoke and Mirrors is an interesting one, and Sam's picked up a new fascination by the end of it. Billie seems amused by it but agrees to take Sam under her wing once he hits twenty-one to teach him what she can. Billie and her partner, Meg Masters, had taken everything the brothers brought with them and (in Meg's words) smudged the shit out of it. Dean gets to show off his Baby to someone else who appreciates her, and Billie praises his and Sam's work on warding her. Finally, right before leaving the shop, Meg hands over two items to each of the men.

"Alright. So this," she holds up a drawstring bag, "Is a heavy-duty hex bag. No need to recharge, just set it out on the full moon every month, got it?" At their nods, she hands over a bag to each of them, then takes two necklaces from around her neck. "Now these, I expect to get back once this is all over and done with." She looks at the wire-wrapped crystals in her palm fondly, then pats them once and hand them over to Dean. "Figure out which one you resonate with the best, and put it on. Wear it all the time, and _do not take it off unless I tell you to._ I cannot stress to you how important it is that you follow this rule. The chain is silver, but it's been spelled so that it won't hurt your Pack. It _will,_ however, burn the shit out of any Demon who tries to take it off of you."

Dean and Sam look at the witch in front of them, wide-eyed. "Um," Dean works his jaw for a few seconds, trying to find the right words. "How will we know which resonates best?"

Meg waves her hand. "That's easy. Put it on, and you'll feel it. It's hard to put into words, but you'll click."

They nod, and Dean continues. "So what if we do take them off?"

Meg tilts her head to the side. "Then it means shit has hit the fan and will light up every emergency beacon we have set up between Billie and me. It calls the Calvary."

"Oh. No taking off the necklace once it goes on. Got it."

"You got it, peaches. You get one shot to take it off, just in case the first one doesn't resonate. After that, no take-backsies."

The Winchesters thank Billie and Meg profusely and make a few purchases of their own before gathering up their things and sliding back into the Impala and making their way home. Sam chatters the entire way, but Dean tunes him most of the way out, only listening with one ear.

Billie hadn't been able to get a lot out of the broken rune, but what she _had_ gotten scared the shit out of him. The one and only Abbadon the Destroyer was the demon that Dad had been working with the night he'd kidnapped them. The rune had meant to keep Dean pliable and easy to manipulate, but for some reason, the Bond resisted it just enough to allow Dean his free will. Billie told him that if it wasn't for Dean's already formed Bond, it was likely that he'd be John's slave. A Warden that he could bend to his own will.

Dean shivers at the thought of anyone, let alone his own father, doing that to another person. And _why?_ What reason would John have to do this to someone? What was he hoping to gain from it?

He shakes himself out of his thoughts as they pull up to Bobby's. Sam gets out of the car and rushes up to his room to put away his stuff, and Dean follows at a more sedate pace, dropping his armful from the shop on the kitchen table before going up to his room to put away the rest. As he tromps back down the stairs, his phone rings, Charlie on the caller ID.

"Hey red, how's it going?"

"Funny, that's exactly what I was going to ask. How'd it go this morning?"

Dean slumps down into one of the chairs at the table. "Not as bad as I expected, I guess. Dad's gonna have to be taken care of if he ever shows his face again."

"Yuck. How come?"

Dean gives her a brief overview of what Billie'd found when she examined the rune, and he can hear Charlie's voice go tight when she answers.

"Dean. I have to tell you that if that stain on humanity ever crosses into my territory..."

"Yeah, I figured as much, Red. Pretty much everyone wants a piece of John Winchester right about now, including me. And I know the Pack is going to want vengeance for kidnapping Sam and me."

"Mm, speaking of the Pack, the first delivery of stuff was made to the clearing. Work's going great. We decided to leave the walls white though, so the houses can be personalized and all that jazz."

"Dude, I have no frikkin clue how we are ever gonna repay you for all of this. Any of you, really."

"Well, I'm sure if you tell that Alpha of yours to make sure that the trade agreements for the peeps in town are fair and we'll help you upcharge the shit out of the exports. Anyway. Just wanted to catch up from today and let you know the latest on the cabin overhaul. I have to skedaddle to help Jody with some spellwork. Oh! You might want to make your way to town cause the newest family's come in and are settled in the motel. Toodles!"

Dean laughs as he hangs up the phone and lays it down on the table. Sam comes running down the stairs, backpack bouncing, snatches an orange from the basket and waves as he runs out the door. Dean shakes his head and pushes away from the table, goods from Billie's in hand, and takes them to Bobby to be put away.

The next few days are hectic for Dean, getting everyone settled into the motel and acclimated with the town. Seeing old friends is like coming home, however, and the air in the town is festive, for the most part.

There's a recent addition from Oklahoma that the rest of the Pack is still leery about, but Dean shrugs it off as being the new kid on the block. Bela Talbot is a pretty woman but prefers to keep to herself. Dean tries to be friendly towards her, but it rebuffed reasonably quickly, so he shrugs it off and moves on.

The Pack is happy for the cabins and the offer to personalize them, but once they find out Cas hasn't picked one for him and Dean, they all flatly refuse to choose one for themselves until he gets there. Dean rolls his eyes at them but agrees to help them start putting together wish lists for paint colors and such.

And no one needs to know if Dean makes a list for himself as well.

Finally, seven days after the wild ones left from Kansas, the Bond snaps back into place. Dean sits up to see every Pack member currently eating looking towards the east, and tears out of the diner, Charlie shouting after him. He doesn't slow, however, letting someone else handle explaining it to her.

He pelts down the street, apron flapping around his legs before he veers into the forest. He's not more than ten feet in when he's knocked off his feet and greeted with enthusiastic wolf kisses and incoherent joy in his head from Cas. He buries his fingers in Cas' ruff and pulls him in for a hug and feels him shift from wolf to man, and when he pulls back from the embrace, Cas is straddling his lap and pulling him back in for an enthusiastic kiss.

_"Too long. That was too long to be away, Warden. Never again." _Dean can only send a burst of wordless agreement to his Alpha as he gets the breath kissed out of him.

A twig snapping to their right breaks the spell, however, and Cas draws back, resting his forehead on Dean's. "I hear you, Raphael. I'll lead everyone to the site and get them settled in." He pecks one more kiss to Dean's lips and shifts back to the wolf before carefully climbing over him.

_"Sorry about that. Raphael and the wild ones are ready to be done with traveling. Can you meet us there?"_

Dean picks himself up off the ground and dusts himself off before offering a wave to the six Vargar trailing Cas. _"You got it. 'Sides, we still need to pick out our place. The Pack won't choose their own places until you've picked yours."_ Dean can feel Cas' exasperation and laughs out loud as he jogs back to the diner where the Impala is parked. He gets in and puts her in gear, making quick work of the drive back to Bobby's. He's off like a shot as soon as she's in park, and jogs the rest of the way through the woods to where Cas and the wild ones are now scoping out the possible housing.

_"Dean? Who did all this work on the cabins? This is all new."_

_"Charlie paid for the supplies, and the folks in town donated their time to fix what needed to be fixed. This town is overjoyed at having a resident Pack again and are going to do pretty much anything ya'll ask to get you to stay."_

Amusement colors Cas' response. _"I see. I'll have to make sure the trade agreements are perfect for Sioux Falls, then."_

_"Charlie said the exact same thing."_ Dean breaks through into the clearing to see the wild ones being greeted by the rest of the pack. The clearing is filled with shouts of joy and high pitched yipping. Cas comes up beside him at the same time he's tackled by an overjoyed Becky Novak.

"Dean! Oh, goodness, it's so good to see you. We missed you so much." Dean feels his eyes prick at the honey smell of her hair, so much like his mom's it almost throws him back in time. He picks her up and twirls her around, clutching to her tightly. Cas jumps up at him, yipping and huffing until he puts her down and sets his sights on Chuck. Dean sinks to his knees and opens his arms as the Alpha rushes into them. This time, Dean does cry as he buries his face into Chuck's neck. The two sit on the ground, shivering, until the clearing quiets and Dean feels wolfy bodies pressing in on them, surrounding and sheltering them. He looks up to see his extended family, his Pack, and finally feels peace settle in his bones.

He's home.

"What the fuck do you mean they're gone?"

"Exactly that, Warden. The houses are cleared out of everything they could possibly care about, and there's not a soul left of the Kansas Pack. It looks like they packed up and got outta Dodge in a hurry."

Gordon growls as he paces the floor of the living room, kicking any mutt in the ribs which aren't fast enough to avoid him. "Find them."

"We're already on it. We'll be in touch."

Gordon slams the handset to the cradle, then drums his fingers on the counter next to the phone. He grins widely and grabs his cell phone, shooting a short text to a number that's not in his phone.

_You'd best be calling me soon with information, little thief if you know what's good for you._


	6. Chapter 6

Time flies by as the Pack settles in. Cas and Dean decided on the cabin closest to the trail to Bobby's house, and the rest of September was spent in clearing the path into a proper roadway for cars to travel over and finishing cabins so that the Pack could move in. All in all, life isn't too awful for the Novak Pack.

Dean's at the diner for an early shift when the newest Vargar to the pack, Bella, slips in. He flicks his eyes to her, watching her bite her lip and slide through the patrons eating lunch to move into the kitchen with him. She sighs, and her whole body slumps when she puts her back to the door. Dean raises his eyebrow at her and drops the spatula on the grill when she slides down the door and starts sobbing.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Dean rushes over to her and squats down next to her. She curls up into a ball, shaking, and in desperation, he reaches out to Cas, _"Sweetheart, I need you at the diner. Bella is here and just broke down in the kitchen, and I can't get her to talk to me."_

_"I'll be there as soon as I can," _comes his response, and Dean focuses on Bella again, making low noises in his throat and trying desperately to calm her down. She finally stops shaking and lets him pull her into his embrace and Cas noses his way into the kitchen. He whines and snuffles at her until she stops sobbing.

She looks up at Dean and says, "Warden, I've put your Pack in terrible danger." She hiccups again when Cas starts growling at her, but Dean shoves him away.

"Tell me, Bella."

So she does. She tells them of the systematic destruction of the Oklahoma Pack by black magic. She tells them of the way the Vargar are treated by the Warden who now hold their lives in his fists. She tells him of the rape and torture by the Demons the Warden is working with.

She tells them of the Warden's hold on her and that Darkness is coming for them.

When she's done, she collapses into Dean's hold again, and Cas presses up against her back, leaning against her and offering his support. _"Dean, what are we going to do? You aren't ready to take up the full mantle of Warden yet."_

Dean clenches his jaw. _"Doesn't matter now, we are out of time. We'll at least be able to do this on our terms now that we know what's coming. And honestly, I'm as ready as I can expect to be. Bobby's happy with my progress and ability to adapt to whatever he or Sam throw at me."_

Cas heaves a sigh, startling Bella. Dean pets her hair as he lets his Alpha work his way through whatever he's thinking. He growls a little under his breath and pulls away from the pair. _"We need to have a Pack meeting tonight. Get in touch with our allies and have them there by sundown." _He trots out of the kitchen, and Dean hears chairs scraping as people file out behind him. Bella pulls away from him at the same time Charlie sticks her head through the serving window.

"I already heard the Alpha. I'll call Billie and Pam."

"Thanks, Char. Go ahead and shut down the diner. I have a feeling this is going to end up being a full war council."

"You got it, boss." She disappears from the window, and he hears her making excuses to the humans and closing out the bills.

Dean looks down at Bella, who's shifted to her small tan wolf form. "You're more than welcome to stay here with me if you feel uncomfortable going back to the clearing. No one's going to blame you after the full story gets out, but I know how it feels to be the new kid and dealing with the suspicious eyes on you."

Bella heaves a sigh and presses up against his legs. _"Thank you, Warden."_

Dean calls Bobby as he cleans up the kitchen and asks him to pass along the message to the Harvelles. By the time the diner is clean, and the doors are closed, all of their allies have been notified and are on the way to Bobby's.

Bella follows Dean out of the diner, depression following her like a cloud. Dean rubs behind her ears as they make their way to the Impala, and he opens the back door for her to jump in. As he settles behind the steering wheel, he reaches out to Cas.

_"Hey sweetheart. Everyone should be making their way to you if they haven't made it already. I've got Bella with me still."_

Dean can feel the anger from Cas color his words. _"Bring the traitor with you. We'll have questions for her."_

_"Cas that's not fair. You heard what she and her pack have been put through the last few years. Plus, she came to us when she didn't have to- probably shouldn't have. She's put herself at risk for us."_

Cas grumbles in the back of his mind. _"Why must you be so logical."_

Dean grins. _"One of us has to be. And since you couldn't be in this, I decided it had to be me. Ask your questions, Alpha, but don't take it out on her. She's had enough of that in her life."_

_"Alright, alright. Tend my apologies to her, and I'll do so as well when you get here. I have a feeling she's not going to feel comfortable around me for a while."_

_"You got it, sweetheart. Hell, I'm surprised she's at all comfortable around me after hearing what her last Warden did to her."_ And wasn't that the kicker? Hearing what Bella had to say about this Gordon Walker and what he had over her - keeping her sister hostage even after beating and raping the will to resist out of her?

Yeah, Dean couldn't wait to get his hands on the fucker.

They pulled into Bobby's driveway, and Dean stopped long enough for Bobby to slide in next to him and Sam to clamber into the backseat with Bella. To Dean's surprise, Bella laid her head down on Sam's lap and closed her eyes, letting her body relax for the first time since he'd seen her that afternoon. He raised his eyebrow at Sam, but he just shrugged and petted Bella with a tiny smile on his face.

Dean shakes his head and puts the Impala back into gear and carefully navigates his way through the scrap yard and to the track leading home. It looks like they are the last to arrive, but Cas and Chuck cross the clearing to greet them regardless. Cas approaches Bella with his head lowered until she licks his cheek in forgiveness. Chuck sits down next to Dean and nudges his hand until Dean's scratching behind his ears. He leans against his leg and says, _"Are you truly ready for this?"_

Dean shakes his head._ "Not really, but at this point, it doesn't matter. We need to do what needs to be done to keep everyone safe. It's not just the Pack at risk now."_

Chuck heaves a sigh but doesn't argue. Dean knows the Alpha is worried about him, but there truly isn't anything else that can be done now, not with this threat on the horizon. The atmosphere is solemn as they make their way to the meeting area, Pack members scattered about in human and wolf form and their allies lounging in fold-out chairs wherever they can find a flat space. Dean smiles at the sight of this blended Pack.

Chuck shifts back to his human form and steps out into the center, next to the fire. "Thank you all for coming. Today we were brought much-needed information from one of our agents from the Oklahoma Pack. She's gathered this information at great risk to herself and her family to bring it safely to us so we can prepare. I will now yield the floor to her so that she may provide it to us first hand." He motions for Bella, who is still staring at him in shock, to join him. Cas nudges her in the shoulder and startles her out of her daze, and she makes her way over to the Pack Alpha, shifting back to human as she reaches his side.

Haltingly, the entire story comes out. She keeps the information about Gordon sending her to infiltrate the Pack between her, the two Alphas, and Dean, but otherwise, she pulls no punches. By the time she's being handed a bottle of water by Jody, the entire Pack's hackles are raised, and the humanoid allies are seeing red.

"So what's the plan?" Ellen Harvelle asks.

Dean looks at Chuck, who motions for him to go ahead. "Well, the first thing _we_ are going to do is to get this Pack a Warden again. Chuck, Cas, and I will work the logistics of that out tomorrow. The next thing we all need to do is batten down the hatches. We need to let the humans know what's going on and what to look out for. I know that this town hasn't had a Pack in a long time, and I'm sorry we've brought this on you-"

"None of that bullshit," Ellen snaps at Dean, silencing him. "We take care of our own, and your Pack is a part of that now. We're damn glad to have a Pack around here again, and if a little trouble comes with it, well, we'll show em why it's not wise to mess with Sioux Falls. We remember the old ways here, and aren't afraid to remind anyone who's forgotten."

Murmurs of agreement come from all around him, and Dean feels his chest swell at the affection he suddenly feels for all of these people in his life. Cas presses up against him, and for the first time, Dean feels ready to take on the mantle of Warden and finish what his Mom started.

Dean waves at the last group of people to leave before he finally drags himself home. The rest of the night had been long but fruitful, planning out what they'd need to do for a two-prong attack from Demons and a black magic Warden. Bella and Cas had broken off to discuss the Oklahoma Pack structure and which ones she thought that Gordon would bring with him for an attack.

He closes the door quietly and sags against it for a few seconds before he rallies. He strips himself of clothing as he makes his way to the bedroom, dropping everything where he happens to be at the time it gets removed from his body. He'll pick it up in the morning.

Cas is already fast asleep by the time Dean crawls into bed, so he just wraps himself around the Alpha and lets himself be taken under by the darkness.

When Dean blinks himself awake the next morning, it's to the smell of coffee. He groans as he stretches, and feels a satisfying burn in his back as the muscles along his spine loosen up. He's pushing himself up to an upright position when Cas comes in, two coffee mugs in hand. He waits for Dean to get settled against the headboard before passing him the mug that simply says "meh" and climbing on the bed to sit next to him. They drain their mugs in silence, and Dean takes the mug from Cas, setting them down on the bedside table, before grasping him by the back of his thighs and pulling him down onto the bed. He drapes himself over the Vargar and relishes the rumble against his chest as he sets to slowly making out with him.

Only to be interrupted by the front door slamming open.

Dean groans and lets his head fall in the space next to Cas' and feels him shaking in laughter under him. He rolls off of Castiel before whoever let themselves in can be scarred and looks up just in time to see Gabriel scuttling into the bedroom. The youngster launches himself into the bed and wiggles his way up next to Cas before he peeks over his body to peer at Dean.

"Sorry, Dean," he whispers. "I know you don't like it when I come over without askin', but everyone's on edge, and I got a little freaked out."

Dean sighs but reaches out to ruffle Gabe's hair. "'Sok kiddo." Gabe snorts and rolls his eyes, but the teen doesn't talk back for once, which tells Dean a lot about his mental state. So, he rolls over so that he's pressed up against Cas and runs his hand through Gabe's hair again to get his attention. "Hey. I'm not gonna tell you it's all gonna be alright, cause we all know how fast shit can go south. But we're gonna do everything possible to make sure that everyone stays safe, OK?"

Gabe nods in agreement and gives Dean a tentative smile before he shifts to his wolf form and curls up in a ball next to Cas. Dean rolls out of bed and pulls on a pair of jeans before leaning over and giving Cas a kiss on the forehead. "I'll get everything ready for the ritual. I'll see you later." He smiles fondly as Cas curls around his cousin and makes his way to Chuck and Becky's cabin.

The door opens before he gets a chance to knock, and Becky beams at him. She pulls him inside and plops him down next to Chuck before she bustles into the kitchen, doing whatever she does. Dean looks at Chuck, a little bemused, and he just shrugs.

"She's always been like that." Chuck leans back and fixes Dean with a stare that reminds him of where Cas got it. "Are you really ready for this Dean?"

Dean chews the inside of his cheek for a few seconds before he nods once. "Yup. Pretty sure at this point I couldn't _be_ any more ready."

"Mm. I disagree, but that's mostly because you should have had time to be bonded with me instead of a brand new Alpha. But your Bond with Castiel is strong. It always has been." Chuck looks away, and Dean can see weariness pressing down on his shoulders. "I won't lie, I'm happy to be finally giving over the mantle to my son. It's long past time. I was afraid for a long time that my magic wouldn't allow us the time we needed and give out too soon. It'll be nice to just be a part of the Pack again." Chuck rubs his hands on his jeans and pushes himself off the couch, and beckons for Dean to follow him. They head back to the bedroom, and the Alpha pulls a small wooden trunk out from under the bed.

"Normally, the previous Warden would be the one to teach you this, but..." he trails off before taking a bracing breath. "But since she's not, I'll have to do."

For the next hour, Chuck carefully shows Dean everything he'll be using during the ritual and guides him through the steps. Once they are both sure he knows the steps, Chuck drills him in the words of the spell until Dean can recite them without faltering. Dean feels like he's ready to drop by the time Cas joins them in the afternoon, but he knows he's got the ritual figured out and he's more than ready to go through with this.

Cas and Chuck grasp each other's forearms in greeting until Chuck grins at his son and pulls him in for a hug. When he lets Cas pull back, Chuck shoots him a wink and pats him on the shoulder. "Let us get this done, Alpha. It's more than time for you to take this mantle."

Dean takes the chest and leaves the two alone to do what they need to do and makes his way to the clearing where the bonfire had been set up the night before. He settles himself down on the ground and starts setting the alter up as the Pack trickles in, arranging themselves in a circle around him. No outsiders will be present tonight, so Bobby's heading everyone off at his house, and the Impala is stretched out across the only way to drive in. Sam's put up a potent barrier spell with the help of Jody to make sure that no surprises crop up when Dean and Cas are at their most vulnerable.

Finally, everything is ready.

The Novak family is the last addition to the circle, and Cas is the only one who enters the circle to join Dean. Dean's struck dumb by the subtle change in Cas' eyes. They look... older, somehow. But the Cas he knows peeks through when he winks at Dean with a twinkle in his eyes.

When Cas is at his side, he addresses the crowd. "Novak Pack, today we welcome Dean Winchester as Warden. As you may know, he's been my Warden since we were but children, but today, he will take his mother's place as Pack Warden. Mary was taken from us too soon, and Dean has to come into his role too early, but the way of this Pack has always been to adapt and overcome."

Tears fill Dean's eyes as Cas turns to him, and they grasp hands over the alter. When Dean squeezes to let the Alpha know he's ready, they drop hands, and Dean calls forth the bubble shield around first the Pack, then the smaller one around the two in the middle. They sink to their knees together, and Cas settles on his heels as Dean casts the herbs from the satchel into the copper bowl between them. He picks up the silver knife and with one last bracing breath, draws the tip up his forearm from wrist to halfway up his arm. He turns the handle to Cas and hands it over, making sure that the blood welling up on his left arm is dripping into the bowl. Cas does the same and lays the knife down next to the bowl and starts murmuring the words of the spell as Dean whispers _tân_ and casts fire into the bowl, lighting the mixture of blood and herbs instantly.

They grasp each other's arm at the elbow, the cuts touching as Cas finishes the incantation, and Dean feels the rush of the Pack into his mind. He's dimly aware of the flash of green-gold and ocean blue between him and Cas, but his focus is on the overwhelming joy in his head as the Pack joyously greets their new Warden. In a daze, Dean realizes that he can pick each mental voice out and assign it to the correct Vargar without having to think about it. A dopey grin spreads across his face as Cas helps him stand and Dean waves the flames out and brings down the shield separating them from the Pack. The Pack, all in wolf form, swarm the two men, yipping and barking. Cas throws his head back and howls with joy, and the Pack joins in. The chorus is impressive and Dean drops back to his knees to let them press in on him until he's covered with Vargar. A small blond wolf struggles through the adults' legs until he throws himself in Dean's lap and starts covering his face in kisses. Dean laughs and hugs Gabe to his chest.

They stay in the dogpile until Dean's stomach rumbles loud enough to be heard over the noise. Becky and Chuck rumble laughs in the link and starts nosing everyone off of the Warden and out to their own cabins to fetch the food. Dean brings down the outside barrier so that Bobby knows it's safe to let outsiders in again. They'll have one night of celebration before going back to preparations for war.

Gordon growls at the Demon delivering the news of a new Warden taking his place with the Novak Pack and waves him away. It's a pity that Winchester hadn't kept his end of the bargain, but at this point, it doesn't matter. Between his bruisers and the Demons backed up by his magic, they are ready.

"Let them celebrate and wear themselves out. We'll hit them tonight after they all go to bed."

Charlie's eyes snap open to darkness. She listens, trying to pinpoint what woke her up. Her skin shivers, and she narrows her eyes, honing in on her dragon senses. Something is threatening her hoard.

She barrels out of bed and bursts out her front door, starting the slow shift to her dragon form as she goes. She launches herself into the air and speeds for the forest. She roars as she passes over Bobby's, likely waking up the entire town.

Good. They're going to need the help.

Firelight glints off her ruby scales as she swoops down toward the Pack. She roars again and watches as they swarm out of their cabins like ants out of a kicked nest. They leave a spot open for her to land, and as soon as she changes back to the small woman form they know, Dean pushes in next to her.

"Charlie, what's going on?"

"They're here."

The Pack explodes into activity as Bobby and their human allies crowd in next to them for instructions. Dean leaves them with Bobby and Jody, knowing that they will be able to direct them better than he can. Meg and Billie corner Dean and paint him and Cas with as many black magic shielding wards as they can. Meg pecks a kiss to Dean's cheek as she finishes.

"Kick some ass, Warden. You've given this town a reason to come together in a way I haven't seen here in a long time. Don't let it get ripped away."

Dean nods and kisses her forehead as the first stream of black smoke comes into the clearing. Madness follows.

Vargar tainted with black magic, the bruisers Bella told them of, flood in behind the Demons, charging their cousins. Snarls and the sound of clashing bodies fill the air as Dean fires off spell after spell to keep the Demons from flanking his Pack. The first gunshot rings out, and a Demon screams as they realize the shells are packed with rock salt, forcing them from their smoke forms into their human bodies. They are vulnerable in that form, and the Novak Pack starts pulling them down as quickly as possible. Spells start bursting between the masses, and Dean catches a glimpse of the Witch Rowena and her Coven, standing back to back, Sam protected in the middle with Bella. Dean grins and throws a shield over the Coven, getting a sassy wink from Rowena in thanks.

In his moment of distraction, Dean's slammed down to the ground. A dark brown Vargar with red eyes is pinning him down, teeth bared. Dean shoves his hand in its face and mutters _gwynt _under his breath, driving the wolf back off of him. He pushes himself off the ground in time to see Cas sailing over him and slamming into Red Eyes. Dean casts a quick shielding charm on him before he focuses his attention on the black man striding into the clearing.

Dean squares off with the man when he feels the tainted Warden magic flowing from him. The Vargar and Demons push the Novak Pack back, clearing a roughly six-foot section for the two Wardens. Dean takes stock of the Warden in front of him.

"It's so good to finally meet the infamous Dean Winchester," the man sneers. "Oh but I'll not be rude since I know your Daddy didn't bother to introduce us. I'm Gordon Walker, Warden of the Oklahoma Pack." He flicks his hand out toward Dean, and he finds himself flying backward, landing on the ground on his back. Dean blinks a few times to clear his vision and looks up to the sound of footsteps rushing toward him. Gordon's rushing toward him and Dean gets a foot up in time to catch him in the gut. He uses his forward motion to flip Gordon over and onto his back in the dirt, knocking the wind out of him. Dean scrambles up and gets turned around, making the motion for _ffon_ to get him to stay down for a few seconds while he tries to formulate a plan.

Gordon doesn't seem fazed by the spell though and gets up quickly. Dean can see he's angry now, clearly not expecting him to be able to fight back. He dodges out of the way of a fireball, throwing up a shield to protect the Vargar that had been directly behind him. Dean darts out of the fray and into the forest, away from the others. He hears crashing behind him and risks a witchball in front of him to keep from running into any trees. He dodges through the trunks to make sure that Gordon can't get a direct line on him before sending the witchball one way while he dives to the right.

He goes still and waits for the Warden to pass him before doubling back to find Billie. He finds her at the edge of the clearing and grabs her, dragging her past a tree to hide them from sight.

"What the hell, Winchester?"

"Billie, my spells aren't affecting him at all. What do I do?"

Billie swears under her breath. "I wasn't expecting that. He's got to have something on him that's keeping the spells from doing what they are supposed to. Was he wearing any jewelry?"

Dean wracks his brain, trying to remember. "I don't think- wait, yeah he was, he had a bracelet on. A black one."

"Alright. We need to get that off of him and then spells will affect him-" She's cut off as she's thrown to the side by a blast of wind. Dean whips his head to look in the direction the explosion came from in time to duck a fireball thrown at his face. Meg rushes by him, throwing up a shield as she goes. She throws a hand out toward Gordon, and he curls around the impact. Cas jumps on his back and flattens him to the ground. Dean sees his chance and curls his fingers into a fist, causing the earth to enclose Gordon and hold him still. He darts in and rips the bracelet off his wrist and incinerates it in his hand. As he lets the ash float away, he sees a tan body rush by him and jump on Gordon's back.

"BELLA NO!"

Dean watches in horror as Bella's snout darts forward, and her jaws close around Gordon's neck. With a sharp twist of her head a sickening _crack_ echos through the clearing, freezing everyone in place. The morass attached to the Oklahoma Pack lifts into the air like a coat coming off of the wolves. Meg and Billie shove everyone out of the way as it coalesces into an orb that spirals in the air then rushes towards Gordon's corpse. Everyone in the area turns tail and runs as fast as they can at Billie's shout, and Dean can feel the rumble of the ground in his chest as the orb collides with Gordon's body. The earth heaves and Dean tries to shield as many people as he can before the tsunami of land covers them.


	7. Chapter 7

_"Dean!"_ Cas scents the ground around the clearing where the build-up of earth is at its highest. They are still searching for the rest of the Pack, Billie, and Dean, and Rowena's spell had pointed them in this direction before she finally passed out from exhaustion. The two packs have been digging out survivors ever since the explosion of black magic, but Cas is starting to panic now that the sun is rising.

The ground shifts under Cas' paws and he stops, frantically digging at the spot. Fingers emerge from the rubble, and Cas backs up, heaving dirt off whoever is buried as fast as possible. He sends out a call to anyone nearby to come help, and two of the Oklahoma wolves rush over. They pull away the bigger rocks and Cas digs in deeper near where he hopes the person's head is and unearths Billie, who can finally push her upper body up and take in deep gasping breaths. She points to her right, and Cas dives in, digging as quickly as he can. He yips, calling the rest of the Pack to the area they are at, and they start digging all along the ridge where Billie is still sitting trying to catch her breath.

The ground heaves under Cas, knocking him to the side. _"Dean?"_

_"Yeah, sweetheart, I'm trying." _The ground heaves again, and Cas sees a hand break through the top layer. _"Yup, almost there. Give me a hand?"_

Cas scrambles over and starts shoving the dirt out in enormous piles until Dean finally breaks free. Cas leaps in and snuffles at him until Dean finally pushes him away so he can climb out of his temporary grave.

"Sorry Cas, legs were going numb." He crawls away and plops down on his butt and holds his arms open so Cas can dive in and press his body against him. Cas shivers and whines until Dean wraps his arms around him and pulls his snout into the crook of his neck. "'S alright sweetheart, I'm here. I'm OK."

Cas feels the drain of his magic and looks back to see the ground shifting back to where it's supposed to be, unearthing the three remaining Vargar. Pam rushes in with a first aid kit and checks everyone out, and Cas turns his attention back to Dean.

_"I was so worried."_

"I know. I'm sorry. I threw up shields but wasn't really expecting that much dirt to be coming down on us. Is everyone OK?"

Charlie runs up to them and falls to her knees, wrapping her arms around them. "Oh, thank the gods. You five were the last ones we needed to locate." She pulls back and wipes her eyes, then smacks Dean in the arm. "Don't do that again!"

Dean chuckles weakly. "No worries Red, I don't ever plan on doing something like that again."

The Packs and their allies slowly put themselves back together over the next week. The Oklahoma Vargar have been patched up and sent home, and life settles back down for the Novak Pack. Dean heals enough to go back to work at the diner, and Sam throws himself into school. Cas and Dean fall into a rhythm with the Pack and all the little things that go with the day to day life. Billie and Meg delight in their new friends in town, and Rowena starts teaching anyone with a speck of Craft everything they can.

All in all, life is pretty good.

When November rolls around, the snow is starting to get thick on the ground when a messenger from the Oklahoma Pack shows up. Reports of John Winchester have been circulating between the Packs, and there's evidence of the man making his way to Sioux Falls. The Pack collectively sighs and thanks the messenger before calling another meeting with the Pack and allies. Everyone agrees to let judgment fall to Chuck, who was the most affected by his scheming and sets up wards to alert the Pack if he steps foot into their territory.

It happens on Thanksgiving.

John's truck rumbles up Bobby's driveway and rolls to a stop. At the end of the drive stands Cas in his wolf form, Dean, Bobby with his shotgun propped on his hip, and Sam with his eyes lit up purple. The rest of the Pack is behind them, sitting in a semi-circle and the allies step in behind the truck, cutting off any hope for escape for the elder Winchester.

Charlie lands next to Sam in her dragon form, and when John steps out of the truck, she roars at him with all the anger and hate in her body. Chuck steps forward from the rest of the Pack and advances on John.

"Pretty stupid of you to show up here, Dad," Dean says. John looks at his son and shrugs.

"Not like it matters. None of you weaklings can do anything to me."

"Mmm, that's where you're wrong, sugar." Rowena's eyes flare white in the purple as she casts the chains around John's body, holding him tight. Chuck continues to advance, his head now lowered and fur on the back of his neck standing on end.

_"John Winchester," _ he says, with Dean translating for those who can't hear him. _"By our Laws, I hereby cast judgment on you for your crimes." _John scoffs, but Chuck ignores him and continues. _"You had your wife murdered because you coveted what she gained through hard work and trust. You willingly worked with Demons and Black Magic to kidnap your children and take them away from their home. You cast a curse on your Warden son meant to bind and control him and make him your slave. For these crimes, the punishment is death." _John's face goes white then, and the last thing he sees is Chuck leaping at him. His jaws clamp shut around John's neck and the crack of his neck snapping echos across the snow.

Chuck drops the body to the ground and heaves. Becky rushes up to him as he bites snow to wash the blood out of his mouth, and Rowena steps forward, incinerating the body to ash. Dean calls the wind to blow away what's left of his father, and turns to his brother, drawing him into a hug.

It's over.

_Two years later_

_"Cas! Where the hell are you?"_

Castiel's head pops up from the water, fish caught in his jaws. He looks to the bank and sees his Warden clambering down with a rod in one hand, and a bucket of worms in the other, cooler slung over his shoulder. Dean's grin is wide on his face, and Cas surges up out of the river and over to his Warden, bowling him over. He drops the fish to the ground where it flops around before he dives in and snuffles at every bit of exposed skin he can find. Dean laughs and tries to shove him away, but Cas wiggles around and continues to find skin to snuffle at until Dean's weak from laughter and gives up.

Cas shifts to his human form and flops over on Dean. "Hello, Dean."

"Heya, Cas. Wanna go fishing?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can come find me on [Tumblr](https://wargurl83.tumblr.com/) or [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/wargurl83).  
Check out my other stories [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wargurl83/works).  
And you can always come talk to me on the [ProfoundBond Discord](http://discord.profoundbond.net/)!

**Author's Note:**

> You can come find me on [Tumblr](https://wargurl83.tumblr.com/).  
Check out my other stories [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wargurl83/works).  
And you can always come talk to me on the [ProfoundBond Discord](http://discord.profoundbond.net/) if you are a Destiel lover like me!


End file.
